


Things Fall Apart, But Then You Build Again

by Zelda_of_Arel



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Character Bashing, Explicit Sexual Content, Falling In Love, Homosexuality, Hurt/Comfort, Love, M/M, Male Homosexuality, Politics, Romance, Weasley Bashing, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-27
Updated: 2015-12-13
Packaged: 2017-11-17 03:59:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 66,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/547387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zelda_of_Arel/pseuds/Zelda_of_Arel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry thinks everything is perfect. A sudden revelation throws his life into turmoil. Alliances shift, illusions shatter, and nothing will ever be the same again. Ignores Epilogue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Shocking News

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: All characters and plot lines are the property of J.K. Rowling and Associates. I do not own any of it or make any money from it.

**Author’s Notes:** This is a new fic I’m working on. I’m planning on putting up one chapter every week. I’m also looking for a new beta who can help me with styling issues and encouragement. Please email me if you’d like to help. Also, reviews keep my muse fed and happy.  
You can join my group as well: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zelda_hp_stories/   
Originally betad by nomeci 

Disclaimer: All characters and plot lines are the property of J.K. Rowling and Associates. I do not own any of it or make any money from it. 

**Chapter 1: Shocking News**

Harry woke up to the sound of the alarm clock going off. Like every other morning, he reached over to hit the snooze button. Just ten more minutes. Again, just as always, ten more minutes were not enough, but he got up anyway and headed to the bathroom to take care of his morning routine. After that he went down to the kitchen to find Dinky preparing breakfast and sat down at the head of the table. The same as every morning. 

His three children came down soon after, but they did not make the racket that you would expect in a house full of children with Weasley blood. Instead, their feet made soft sounds on the carpeted stairs. James was still in his pyjamas, hair sticking up all over, obviously having just rolled out of bed. He was not a morning person and usually groaned at everything and everyone until he changed and was off to school. 

He was followed by Albus, who found his chair with only a glance away from his book. Harry let out a sigh at the title _"The 12 Uses of Mandrake Root"_. It was uncanny how that boy loved Potions, when neither of his parents did. He was also extremely intelligent, having learned how to read and write at the age of four from his Aunt Hermione. Ever since then he had read everything he could get his hands on, first starting with Harry’s old school books. Of course, besides those there were not many books around, so they had to make frequent stops at book stores once he was done with those. Which took him three months. Harry just hoped he would use all the spare time he had at Hogwarts gaining friends. Albus wanted to go to Hogwarts already, but there were no early admissions. He couldn’t wait to discuss things with professors and finally have more people to talk to than Aunt Hermione. His parents hardly understood what he spoke about most of the time, hence all the reading. Not even Hermione’s children could keep up with him, both too much like their father, Ron. 

Lily also shuffled down, her small legs still having a bit of a hard time on the steps, but she clutched her dragon all the same. That stuffed animal was almost as big as her, but she loved dragons and that one was her favourite. She took it everywhere with her. Harry just smiled at her red head. He always tried to not think of a certain man named ‘Dragon’ when she demanded to be read a story with dragons. He sometimes wondered what Lily would think of Draco. 

Dinky laid out their breakfast. Harry ate ham and eggs with toast, James cereals, Albus a sandwich and Lily porridge. The tea was served and doctored to their tastes as well and their fruit juice was poured. Ginny insisted on them having fruit juice even when she was not there. Just as every morning. 

Ginny was not at the table. Like most mornings, she was away somewhere. Harry tried to remember where she had gone off to, then recalled her mentioning some tropical island in the Pacific. He couldn't think of the name though. In the last two years she had proclaimed that she had had enough of sitting at home and expressed a desire to travel. Harry would have gone with her, but she didn’t want the presence of the children, and Harry’s career was important, so she went off on her own. Ever since then, she would only stay a week at home at a time, until she wanted to be somewhere else. Harry understood her desire to see the world and as she was his wife, he supported her fully. The children occasionally missed her, but Harry always had a more active role in their lives, even when she was present. Harry always understood everything she did. 

After breakfast he sent the boys up to get dressed and taking the four-year-old Lily himself, got her ready for the day as well. Once everyone was ready, he used the Floo in the living-room to take James and Albus to the magical primary school that their grandmother, Molly Weasley ran and then dropped Lily off at the day-care. In no time at all, he was sitting behind his desk in the Ministry, looking at his Auror files. Just like every day. 

However, his routine was broken by an owl that he received. It was from Hermione Weasley, who requested a lunch date from him. Since he didn't have any plans, he replied that he accepted her offer. 

"Hello, Harry," Ron said as he sat down at his desk next to him. Thirty minutes late, as usual. 

"Good morning, Ron." He smiled at his best friend and turned back to the file he was looking at. 

"So, Harry, when can we catch our guy?" he asked, eagerly anticipating the chance to fight. 

"We don't even know who it is yet,” he reminded the hot-head and glanced back at another set of data in front of him. ‘It could be a woman,’ he thought, considering the shoe prints found at the scene. 

"Probably some Death Eater scum. We should have rounded up everyone with a Mark at the end of the war. Less trash lining the streets," he voiced one of his opinions that was oft heard by everyone around him. 

"You seem to forget, not everyone with a Mark was evil." 

"Bollocks. And you, letting the Malfoys get away. I don't know what you were thinking. The whole family should have been Kissed and that would have been the end of it, finally." 

Harry just sighed and didn't even comment on that. 

"What?!" Ron was getting redder by the minute. "Malfoy reproduced! He has a son, Harry, another generation of that shit and we could have stopped it from happening! That boy is going to go to Hogwarts with our children! Bring them misery like their father did to us!" 

"You don't know that." Harry was staying calm. He found it so easy to stay calm since the war; it just came naturally to him. He was not even the least tempted to mention how he had saved Malfoy’s life, or how Narcissa Malfoy saved his. 

"He's a Malfoy and from what I've seen of him, looks just like his father. So yeah, I _do_ know it." 

Harry just shook his head and let it slide. 

* * * 

Lunch could not come soon enough for Harry. Ron was not in a good mood and he was trying everything to calm the man down, but he kept spewing hatred. He was relieved when he could go and sit down in his favourite pub. Good thing that Ron always brought home-made food and ate it in the cafeteria. They did not have a lot of money with his wife at home and two kids. Aurors were not making a lot of money and Harry was glad for his inheritance. Though at the rate Ginny was spending money abroad… Soon enough Hermione appeared as well, and she joined his table. 

"Honestly, Harry, do you ever have lunch at a different place?" she asked, scoffing at him a bit. 

"No. I like it here," he said, his ever-present little smile firmly on his face. 

"Don't you just want to try something different from time to time?" 

"No. Why would I?" Harry couldn't understand what she was on about. 

"All right," with these words she gave up, and soon they both ordered. 

Harry didn't even have to look at the menu, he always had the same thing: beef Wellington, mash and carrots. Hermione on the other hand took her time and ordered grilled chicken with vegetables. Soon they were both eating, though Hermione seemed to be more preoccupied with her thoughts, than her food. 

"You wanted to have lunch with me for a reason," Harry started after he gave up waiting for her to do so. 

"Yes." She seemed to brace herself for what she was about to say. "I wanted you to know first. I'm divorcing Ron." 

Harry's utensils fell on his plate in a riot of noise. He stared at her with his mouth agape and she just looked down at her plate. He couldn't believe his ears. 

"But why? And does he know about it?" he asked, remembering how unchanged Ron was that morning. 

"I’m telling him tonight. I'm just not happy, Harry. Ever since the war I feel like I've only been existing, just going along with things. I do everything the way Ron wants it done. We had kids when he wanted them. I stay at home like he wants me to. I can't go on like this. I have to separate myself from him. It's like I'm trapped. Don't get me wrong, I love my children. But I had such plans." She sighed, remembering those days. "I wanted to work in something where I could do a lot of research. Maybe in mediwizardry, or some other science. I wanted to travel, see the world. After the war it seemed like I lost all my passion. I just went along with what Ron said. I lost myself." She was babbling and she knew it, but it was like a dam breaking. Everything was just pouring out of her. 

"I still don't understand why you feel this way so suddenly. You seemed happy and content before," Harry noted. 

"I was,” she agreed. “I don't know what happened, but I feel like I woke up from a long sleep. Maybe it's my diet." 

"Diet?" he frowned. What would eating have to do with anything? 

"That is the only thing that changed recently. You see, I was feeling off a few months ago. I went to see a mediwizard, but he couldn't see anything wrong with me. So I saved up from the grocery money and went to see a Muggle doctor. He had some tests done and it turned out that I had a Candida infection." 

"What's that?" Harry asked, not having a clue about what a 'Candida' was. 

"It's a mushroom in your intestines," she said that word like any other, but Harry had to force himself not to be put off of his food. "So, it's there normally, but sometimes it spreads and you have too much of it. So then you need to kill it. They gave me some pills and prescribed this really strict diet. I had to give up sugar of all kinds and flour of all kinds. Plus mushrooms, but I don't like that much anyway. Oh, and no sweet fruits or juices." 

"I still don't understand what this whole thing has to do with you divorcing Ron." Harry was starting to get annoyed with how she drew out her story. 

"About a month into the diet I started to feel more energised. I played with the kids more, but that didn't satisfy me anymore. So I brought out some of my old books and got to reading again. I haven't read anything but brainless novels for such a long time! It was like I had been sleeping for so long and just woke up. I tried to talk to Ron about it." She shook her head, signalling how well that talk went. "I told him that I wanted to go back to studying and become a healer. I have secretly thought of doing that since second year, but he told me he wanted more kids. I don't, Harry. I love them, but two is enough. Ron just ignored me and said that Weasleys always had big families, so we would too. As if my opinion didn't matter!" She was clearly distraught over the matter. "Then I realised I haven't had an opinion about anything, or contradicted him since the war." 

"But Hermione, you wanted what Ron did when you got married," Harry pointed out. "He said you guys would have a big family and you agreed." 

"I did?" She frowned, obviously trying to recall the memory. "I don't remember. Everything from before is in such a fog. Still, ever since I woke up and have been trying to take a more active role in my life, Ron had been ignoring me, or placating me, or trying to make me drink that stupid fruit juice, when I told him I couldn't drink juice anymore. I just can't be with him! I don't want to be with him. I don't even remember why I married him in the first place!" She was desperately trying not to scream, but she obviously wanted to in her frustration. 

"You loved him," Harry stated, remembering the way she cried over him dating Lavender their sixth year. 

"I did, before the war. I was deeply disappointed in him when he left us in the tent though. Sure, he came back, but I was still bitter about it. I actually didn't want to get together with him after that. But then the war ended, I moved in with the Weasleys and it just seemed so natural..." her voice carried off. "Harry, I think you may have the same problem!" 

"What?! I don't feel nauseous," he protested, giving up sugar and flour just sounded awful. "I don't want to diet!" 

"It's not for forever, Harry, just 6 months. I think you haven't been the same either, since the war. The way you sit in front of me now, your shoulders slumped, your eyes almost dropping. Harry, you eat the same thing every day, and don't even deny it," Hermione explained, her voice full of concern for her friend. 

"I'm fine," he grunted out, not willing to agree with her point. 

"But you're not happy, Harry. You barely smile, just sometimes your lips stretch. Try the diet for two months, and if you don't want to do it anymore, you don't have to." Hermione took his hand and her eyes pleaded him to agree. 

"All right, Hermione, I'll try." Harry gave up fighting her. 

She smiled, and went on eating her food. While eating the rest of their meal, she explained to him the diet in greater detail, making Harry dread the coming months. It was not going to be easy. For a second he wondered why he went along with it, then remembered that nowadays, he always went along with everything. 

They left the subject of the divorce for a later time.


	2. Introduction to Wizarding Law

After the meeting in the pub, Harry went back to work with a heavy heart and a list of things that he couldn’t eat for Dinky. As he sat down, he looked over to the empty desk of his friend and wondered how he was going to face him in the light of what he knew. He squared his shoulders and decided to just get through the day. When Ron did finally make it back from his one and a half hour of lunch break, Harry had enough of a resolve to act relatively normal. 

Still, he was glad when six o’clock rolled around and he could bid goodbye. He hurried to Floo to the school and pick up the boys, and then they went on to gather Lily. She took his mind off of Ron for a while as she told her father everything of a story about a brave man saving a dragon only to be rescued later on by the aforementioned dragon, which she heard that day at pre-school. Even the boys seemed to be interested as they stayed to listen to the end even when they arrived to their living room. 

Once the story ended, they all went on their way. James ran up to his room to do his homework quickly. Al went after him, but slowly enough to keep on reading his book from that morning. He had very little homework and what he did have, he usually did during the breaks between classes. Lily skipped upstairs, proclaiming loudly that she would draw pictures based on the story. Harry called after her to make sure that she would show them to him later. Dinky appeared in front of Harry, asking him about dinner, so he gave the elf the parchment with the list and asked him to prepare something light with the remaining food. 

Once the elf had disappeared, Harry sat down on his ornate couch, a piece Ginny insisted on, and waited for Ron to appear. He was sure that once Hermione told the redhead the bad news, he would immediately Floo Harry. He was debating whether to tell Ron about knowing of the situation before he did, but he knew that he was a terrible liar and it would be no use trying to hide things from his best friend. So when the flames changed to green and a disgruntled redhead stepped through, he was prepared. 

“You knew,” the tall man said by way of a greeting. 

“Hermione told me over lunch today,” he admitted. 

“Did she tell you why?” he asked, sitting down on the couch, trying to get comfortable on the furniture. It was more like those pieces that were meant to look good, not feel relaxing. Ron glared at the thing, probably wondering why anyone would have it in their living-room. The second-hand furniture in his living room may have been a little ugly and had seen lots of use, but was very comfortable. 

“Of course.” 

“What did she tell you?” 

“That she wasn’t happy anymore and wanted to become a healer. Something which you didn’t support. She was also troubled by your attitude towards her desire not to have more kids,” Harry summed up. 

Then Ron frowned at him in disbelief. 

“Load of bollocks. She’s cheating on me with someone,” he said with conviction. 

“Are you sure?” Harry asked. “She’s not the type.” 

“Of course I’m sure!” Ron stood up and started pacing in front of the fireplace. “Of course you don’t know anything about dating, Harry, but a woman never leaves a man unless she already has someone lined up. The whore. If our kids didn’t have red hair, I would demand paternity tests on them.” 

Harry was taken aback by the vehemence in Ron’s speech. He didn’t sound like the care-free, happy person he knew. 

“It’s good though. She has no idea what divorce means in the Wizarding world. I can have the kids taken from her and she would never see them again,” he spoke, shaking his right fist. “If she wants to see them again, she’ll have to come crawling back to me and ready to bear me more kids. Did you know that Fleur is expecting her third?” he asked, rounding on Harry, who shook his head. “I will not be beaten by any of my brothers. I’ll have the most children and make my parents proud.” He straightened and stopped his pacing as he said this. 

Harry couldn’t understand why Ron was acting the way he was. He didn’t seem like the person that Harry knew. Instead, he was horrified at what he was hearing and didn’t know how to respond. This wasn’t his friend. 

“Ron, you can’t mean that,” he said, trying to placate the redhead. “Hermione loves Rose and Hugo.” 

“I know.” Ron grinned wickedly. “That is why I’m keeping them. If she loves them so much, she will submit to me, like a wife should. Look at my mother. She gave my father seven children and only once we were all grown up did she venture out on her own. Of course, even now she takes care of the house same as ever.” 

The man sitting on the couch didn’t know what to say. He disagreed with his friend’s views so much, but he had no idea how to contest them. 

“Ron, you’ve never spoken like this before,” he pointed out. 

“I didn’t need to. We were kids ourselves, Harry. But now I am a man, a husband, the head of a household. As a Light Wizard it is my duty to protect and provide for those in my care. A wife’s duty is to serve her husband, provide a good home for him and the children, and to produce as many heirs as the husband wants. Her needs should only come after all of that. My family lives by this creed. None of my brothers’ wives are working, for the same reason. For Herm to suggest that is abnormal,” he rambled on, not aware of Harry’s discomfort at what he was hearing. “She’s being selfish. But she’ll wise up once I put her out on the street and then come begging me to take her back.” 

“Out on the street?” Harry asked, horrified. 

“Sure. If a wife divorces her husband, she is not entitled to anything. For Light Wizards the most important thing is the unity of the family and it must be upheld at any cost.” Ron sounded like he was reading from a book, the Muggle-raised wizard realised. Perhaps there was a book. 

“So wives are discouraged from going against the head of the family by laws, which could be put in place because Light Wizards have dominated the Wizarding world for centuries. So once Herm declares her intention to divorce me, I am no longer responsible for her. She will not be entitled to anything that is mine. Not my house, money, or my children.” 

There was a glint in his eye that Harry didn’t like. It was like looking at a person he didn’t know. He thought of trying to convince the man of how wrong it all was, but then he realised that he didn’t know much of the Wizarding world still, even though he had been living in it for so long. He had had no idea that there were such laws. Perhaps he should read something other than novels once in a while. 

“So, what are you going to do now?” he wondered. 

“I haven’t really said anything to Herm, I just ran out when she told me about the divorce. I had to plan, you see. Now I’m going to go back to her and throw her out of the house. I’ll tell her to not come back, or contact the kids, until she changes her mind. Then I’m going to call mum and tell her about what the bitch is doing. She’ll be furious at her.” Ron grinned. He was probably picturing the Howler that his mother would send to Hermione. 

“Where will she go?” Harry wondered. After the war Hermione had tried to reverse the memory spell that she had put on her parents, but it had turned out that she had put so much conviction into the spell that it was permanent. That was when she had been forced to move in with the Weasleys, as she had no home and no money. Harry offered, but Hermione did not want to intrude just when Harry was finally putting his life together and finding himself. So that now left her with no one to really rely on. It was probably easy for her to marry Ron after that, as they were already living together and a couple at the same time. It was a natural progression of their relationship. 

“I don’t care. She can go and whore herself on Knockturn Alley for all I care.” The redhead shrugged. “Though she’ll probably shack up with whoever she’s sleeping around with. Oi, and Harry, don’t you dare take her in!” he demanded. 

“Ron, she’s my friend. The same as you are. If she asks for my help, I’ll give it to her,” Harry said. He was not going to take Ron’s side in the situation as he was now certain that Hermione had good reasons for divorcing her husband. That night he learned of a side of his friend that probably only she had seen and he did not like it. 

“You would take that whore into your house?!” Ron was shouting at that point and Harry was afraid the kids would overhear. ‘Whore’ was not a word they commonly heard in the house. “Maybe you’re the one who’s shagging her! With Ginny travelling all the time, you must be lonely. I always knew she had the hots for you!” He was pointing at Harry, spit coming in large drops out of his mouth as he screamed at the man in front of him. 

“Ron…” Harry tried, but was cut off. 

“Daddy! I’m done with the pictures!” the voice of Lily came from the stairs. 

Ron looked towards the interruption, threw an accusatory glance towards the man still sitting on the couch and walked over to the fireplace. 

“Goodbye, Harry,” he said as he threw the Floo powder down. 

Harry understood it was ‘goodbye’ for good then. His friend had walked out on him a lot of times and Harry always wanted him to come back. However, at that moment, he did not. 

He couldn’t understand Ron’s attitude. Yes, he had always been quick-tempered and fast to fly off the handle, but underneath it all he had the rational mind of a chess player. When had he become the irrational, judgemental person that had just left? Harry tried to think the sudden personality change through, but as he was about to wrap his mind around it, he felt a strange calm come over him. His heart slowed down and his mind, which had been in turmoil settled to an ease. In a moment, all his worries were gone. His heart remained a bit heavy though and even the pleasant feelings he was experiencing could not chase away the sense that Ron was no longer his friend. 

With the knowledge of something irreplaceable breaking, he smiled at his daughter as she showed him the pictures of the dark-haired knight and the green dragon with yellow scales down its back. He marvelled at Lily’s skill and it was soon time for dinner. 

Just as they were sitting down in the dining-room and getting ready to eat according to their new meal plan, the Floo chimed for the second time that night, signalling a new arrival. Harry motioned for the kids to go ahead and eat their salads. He noted that James made a face, obviously missing his peanut butter sandwich. 

As he entered the living-room, he knew what to expect. And there indeed was Hermione, sobbing, with her old beaded bag in her hand. He just went to her and hugged her, same as he would if Lily was in pain. 

“I was a fool, Harry. I just assumed that divorce law was the same in the Wizarding world as it was in the Muggle one. I had no idea he could, or even would take them away,” she said into his shoulder. 

“It’s going to be all right, Hermione. We’ll figure it out,” he tried to calm her down a bit. “Go upstairs and make yourself comfortable. Lie down a bit.” 

“He … he even accused me of cheating on him with you! Like I would. I never saw you in that light and you were never that interested in dating or women either. I was even surprised when you married Ginny,” she said, between sobs. 

Harry frowned at what she was saying. Everyone had known that he would marry Ginny. Probably even sooner than he had known himself. 

“I don’t understand.” 

“Well, during sixth year, when you were supposedly going out with Ginny, you spent more time stalking Malfoy. You always had something other than girls keeping you occupied when other boys had nothing but them on their minds,” she pointed out. She had apparently decided to occupy her mind with something other than her own problems. 

“You know what that was, Hermione. He was up to something and I wanted to find out what.” 

“I know, Harry, still, when you are supposedly in love with the girl, you should pay more attention to her. Granted, there was  war going on, but once we went back for eighth year, I was hoping that you would be more passionate with Ginny. Instead, I saw a reluctance in you. Like … like you were forcing yourself to be with her,” she said as she let go of him to look into his eyes. 

“If it hadn’t escaped your attention, I’m very much in love with my wife.” 

“Where is she now then? She’s always away travelling and you don’t seem to mind.” 

“She loves to travel and before she never had the opportunity. I’m glad that I can provide that for her now and I’m happy to watch the kids. Of course I miss her, but as long as she’s happy, I’m happy. I don’t know where you are going with this Hermione. My marriage is a good one. I wouldn’t change anything about it.” 

“Sorry to bother you then. I’ll go up.” She made her way up the stairs, dropping the subject. 

Harry went back to the dining-room and resumed eating. He also asked Dinky to take up some food for Hermione, just in case she felt up to eating something. 

It had been a difficult day for Harry, but when his head hit the pillow, he felt oddly good. Things were happening and it was as though he had been standing still for many years. He was finally moving forward. He just hoped Hermione would get her children back in the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that Ron seems weird at this point, but I have a reason for that. Also, remember that this is 14 years after the end of Book 7 before the Epilogue and a lot has changed since then.


	3. Consequences of a Decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betad by Hazel and Icicle.

The next day, Harry went to work with a distinct feeling of dread. By now, Ron probably knew that Harry had taken Hermione in and he was not known for dealing well. As he stepped inside the office, he scanned the area for the familiar redhead. Ron was nowhere to be seen, so with a sigh, he made his way to his own desk, edging around that of others'. He barely sat down on his chair, when he heard the voice of his boss, who demanded that he join him in his office. Harry cringed and scanned his mind for things he could have done to warrant such a treatment, but he couldn't think of anything. 

He entered the office and noticed Ron sitting in one of the chairs in front of the desk. Greer Stewart, Head of the Auror Department, was an imposing figure with his flaming red hair, light-green eyes and not to mention his build. The budget didn't allow for large desks and his was as small as any of the desks outside. Therefore, his already bulky Scottish form was made larger in contrast. He was currently looking with a frown at Ron, who was apparently trying to appear brave in spite of the stare. Harry admitted that it must have been a difficult thing to do. In his Auror days Greer had been known as a fierce interrogator. All they had to do was put him in a room with a suspect and without saying a word, he would have the guy spilling his guts out in thirty minutes. Harry quickly sat in the other chair, hoping that the stare would not be directed at him as well. 

"Mr. Stewart, what is this about?" he asked, wanting to break the uncomfortable silence. 

"Weasley here is requesting a new partner. He says his reason is that you're sleeping with his wife, Potter." Harry shifted in his seat at the accusation. "You know I don't tolerate any disruptions in the lives of my Aurors. I find their work suffers and that is when people get killed." At that moment he seemed to have finished glaring at Ron, so he turned instead towards Harry, who tried to not flinch. "So, I called you here to work this out." 

"Sir, I can assure you that I'm not involved with Ron's wife," Harry said, trying not to sweat. He had the sudden urge to speak without pause and reveal anything the man wanted. If Greer had asked about Horcruxes, Harry would have told him everything. 

"Then what is this about?" Greer's voice rang out like thunder in the Highlands. 

"You see, sir, Hermione, Ron's wife, wants to divorce him. He threw her out of the house because of it and I took her in. She's my friend too and has no one, so I can't stand by and watch her struggle on her own. I want to help her." 

"Help her?" Greer interrupted Harry. "Why would you do that? Potter, have you not studied Wizarding Law any more extensively than what was in your training?" he questioned the young man in front of him, who just shook his head. Greer frowned at his response. "Potter, it is the responsibility of an Auror to be fully aware of the law and its intent as well. It states that a wife wanting to divorce her husband can be made to leave his property as soon as her intent is made known towards her spouse." 

"But sir," Harry tried to interrupt. 

"I'm not finished, Potter. The spirit of the law is to prevent wives from leaving their husbands. They are supposed to be out on the street, Knutless and friendless. If they are left alone, they will return to their husbands faster. Of course I can't order you to revoke your invitation to Weasley's wife, since the law doesn't specifically state that you can't take her in, but I am strongly suggesting." Greer stared into those emerald-green eyes without blinking and Harry was tempted to give in; however, he couldn't do that to Hermione. 

"No, sir, I will not let my friend down," he said, straightening his spine. 

"Fine, Potter. Desk duty until further notice. Ron here will get another partner and you will be alone while you are on desk duty," he sentenced Harry. 

"But sir!" 

"No buts! You just confessed to not being fully aware of Wizarding Law. You will be sitting at your desk, studying it, until I deem it necessary. Now leave," Greer said and pointed to the door. 

Harry got up and left with his head held high. At least if he studied some law, he would be a better help to Hermione. Of course, she was probably poring over books as well. He sat down at his desk, wondering where he was going to get the books from, when Tyto, the Weasley family owl, landed in front of him, carrying a familiar red envelope. With a sigh, he opened it as he knew there was no use trying to get out of it. Just as he did it, the voice of Molly Weasley rang out loud, deafening the whole office. 

"Harry Potter! How dare you take that awful woman into your house! Under the same roof as my grandchildren! You bring shame upon us and on your own wife! That woman is trying to leave my poor Ronnikins, who has never done a wrong in his life! Who for years has only been slaving away at work to provide everything for his family! Such a foul woman deserves to be out on the streets! If you don't throw her out right this minute, you are no longer welcome in my house!" As those last words came out through the magical mouth, the Howler burned to ashes. 

Harry was glad that that was over and hoped that the ringing in his ears would stop in a few hours. His colleagues around him were looking at him with narrowed eyes. They probably didn't like being subjected to his family matters. He let out an exhausted sigh and left the room, deciding to go to Flourish and Blotts to pick up a few books on Wizarding Law. He was only gone for an hour, but when he returned he found that his desk was occupied by another wizard, who was talking excitedly with Ron. Harry went to his desk and dropped the books he had bought onto it with a loud bang. He knew his face was dark, but he hadn't had the best of days and felt himself entitled to some anger. 

The two men looked up at the sound and Harry recognised the man occupying his seat. He was Jimmy Peaks, who had taken over one of the Beater positions after the twins had left. Harry hadn't even known that the boy had become an Auror. 

"Sorry, Jimmy, but you are sitting at my desk," he grunted out, not in the mood to be civil at all. 

"Oh, Harry, actually, this is my desk now. Since I'm Ron's new partner, you need to switch places with me. My old desk is over there, in the corner." Jimmy pointed towards the desk in the darkest recess of the room. "I already moved my stuff. Here, take the box I transported them in, I don't need it anymore," he offered. 

Harry huffed a little, but knew he couldn't do anything about it, so he took the box and placed inside his picture of Ginny and the kids, his clock, quills and parchments. He almost took his files as well, until he remembered that he was off all the cases. 

"Wanna go interrogate Malfoy?" Harry heard Ron say as the redhead got up. 

"Sure, it's going to be amusing! We can pay him back for all the shit he gave us in school," Jimmy said, joining his partner. 

"Too bad we can't use hexes." They both laughed at that and headed towards the interrogation rooms. 

Harry wondered why they had brought Malfoy in for interrogation. He couldn't remember the blond man being tied to any of their cases. He shrugged and made his way to the little corner desk. He noted that it was probably the oldest one in the room, covered with carvings made by obviously bored previous owners. He lit the candle on it, noting that it was a very small stub. He looked around for a bigger piece, but couldn't find one. He sighed again, wondering who he had pissed off to have such a bloody awful day, and headed to the supply closet to retrieve some more candles. 

On his way there, he had to pass the interrogation rooms. Just as he was passing one of the doors, he heard some shouting in spite of the silencing charms and the door banged open just in front of him. Malfoy hurried out of the room, or rather tried to, but bumped into Potter and knocked him over. 

"Watch it, Potter," he said as he looked down. "Watch your partner too. Weasley is obviously off his rocker, accusing me of making illegal potions!" 

"Not my partner," Harry mumbled, as he was picking up himself off the floor. 

"What was that, Potter?" Malfoy spat. 

"Not my partner anymore, Malfoy." 

"Aw, little potty was left by his pet weasel?" Malfoy said in a mocking tone. "What could have ever happened to break the Golden Trio apart? Or maybe you got promoted over him?" 

"No. Hermione is divorcing him and I took her side. So now everyone is mad at me!" Harry shouted, his frustration finally surfacing. 

"Of course they are, Potter! You surround yourself with hypocritical Light Wizards and then you're surprised when their prejudices show." Malfoy frowned and shook his head. Then he calmly walked away. 

Harry scratched his head. This was the second time in twenty-four hours that he had heard the term 'Light Wizard'. Before, he had thought that it referred to wizards who only did good magic, but both Ron and Malfoy had spoken as if it was something else. He made a mental note to pick up some books on that as well on his way home. He was obviously missing something and he had learned in the past that not having enough information could cost him. He tried not to flinch at the pang he felt in his heart as he saw Sirius fall through the veil in his mind's eye. 

* * * 

That night he returned home with an armful of books. It was rather unusual for him and he almost fell out of the fireplace. It had been some time since he learned not to stumble at the end of a Floo journey. Hermione had volunteered to pick up the kids. She had hoped she could get a glimpse of her own in the process as Harry's two younger ones were the same age as her own. 

He looked around the living-room and dropped the books on the coffee table. He gave an exhausted sigh and looked around. It seemed awfully quiet. 

That was when Ginny walked down the stairs. Harry was surprised to see her as he hadn't expected her to be back for a while. She looked at her husband and her eyes narrowed. 

"Harry, what were you thinking taking Hermione in?" was the first thing that came out of her mouth. 

Harry groaned. After two months of not seeing each other, she finally came back and that was what she opened with. 

"Not you too, Ginny. She's my friend and yours too." 

"But Ron is my brother and she wants to leave my family. She belongs with us, with Ron now, you know that. " 

Harry just sighed again. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. 

"Ginny, Hermione is staying." 

"Well, I can't let my children be in the same house as that whore. I'm taking them with me to Mother," she stated a bit too calmly and went back upstairs, probably to get the kids. 

Harry thought about what to do. He didn't want the children to go, but they would be with Ginny. Since their mother had started to travel, they had seen very little of her. Perhaps, this would be a good thing. The children could be with their mother, they had been missing her anyway, and once everything blew over, they could return home. He went up to find Ginny and tell her. He discovered her in James' room, putting his things into a bottomless bag. Thankfully James wasn't around. 

"Ginny, I don't like you calling Hermione a 'whore'," he began. "However, it would do the kids some good to be with you for a while. So I will let you take them until this thing between Hermione and Ron is over." 

"Fine. Whatever," she said and turned back to her packing. 

Harry knew she was angry with him, so he left her alone and went to talk to Hermione. She was sitting on her bed in the guest room, her eyes sad, almost crying. The dark-haired man sat down next to her and put a comforting arm around her shoulder. 

"What is it, Hermione?" he asked. 

"Everything. I'm such an awful person!" She started to cry in earnest. 

"No, Hermione." 

"But ... but," she choked, holding back her tears. "I got you involved in all of this. First Ron is angry with you, now Ginny is taking away your kids. And there was that awful Howler from Mrs. Weasley. She's been my mum since I couldn't make my own remember me! How could she say those dreadful things to me?" She couldn't hold them in anymore, the tears came pouring out of her. 

'It seems like she got a Howler as well.' Harry did not dare ask her what was said exactly. 

He just held his friend, knowing that she had to have a good cry about it, then she would square her shoulders and be ready to fight. He knew that it would probably be easier for her to just give up and return to Ron, but she didn't even mention it. From that he knew that everything would be all right. If she was not happy with her husband, no one should force her to remain with him. She would eventually win, she always did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Draco appeared! Finally! I know, slow progress. Though we can't expect Harry to wake up one day and just say "oh, I'm gay", now can we?


	4. An Important Missive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On Hermione's diet. In 2008 I felt ill all the time, especially after eating. I was concerned, because I've had several problems like that and some involved rather nasty things, so I went to a doctor. After some tests they found that I have Candida in my blood, so I had too much in my system. I cut out all sugar, flour, and some other minor things, took fungi-killing medication. The blood test after 3 months of this revealed that I managed to bring down the levels to the normal one. I never slacked for one meal. If any of you have it too, then I suggest sticking to it religiously and not wavering. For those who had not had it, I have to tell you that it can be a very serious problem. If you have other conditions that weaken you, you can die from the combination. Actually, while I was on the diet, there was an actor in my country who died from a really severe case of Candida infection. So no, I'm not kidding. Anyone can have it.

The next day Harry woke up feeling more refreshed and alert than he had in a long time. He had only been on the diet for less than two days, but it seemed to be working. Harry had so much energy that he wanted to jump out of bed, run into James' room and rouse him, then tickle Albus awake, and lastly, blow a raspberry into Lily's tummy. But they were with Ginny, he realised, and his good spirit threatened to evaporate. However, he shook himself and managed to not let that dampen his mood. He quickly got ready for the day. It was a Saturday, which meant no work, but Harry couldn't stop thinking about last night and contemplating Hermione's difficult situation.  Saturday or not, he had things to do today. 

He skipped down the stairs to the kitchen, where he startled his house-elf with his loud morning greeting. Hermione was already sitting at the table and smiled at his antics. She had dark circles around her eyes and the fact that she was not trying to take over Dinky's work was a testament to her exhaustion. Their special white flour-free, sugar-free sandwiches were placed before them, along with tea and sweeteners. As Harry was munching on his breakfast, he was glad that Dinky could bake the special bread; it was so delicious warm, and fresh. They also ate a small salad on the side which contained a few slices of crisp green apple. 

"I thought we couldn't eat fruits," Harry said, remarking on the apple. 

"Just not the ones with a high sugar content. Green apples are fine," she answered and even smiled a little. 

They both enjoyed their meal silently for a while, but the breakfast table was too quiet without any children around. 

"Hermione, I've been thinking," he began. "We should get you a solicitor, to help with the divorce and getting custody of Rose and Hugo." 

"Harry, you know I don't have any money." 

"But I do." 

"Harry..." 

"I've promised to help you." Harry refused to hear her protests. "I have a lot of money, even with Ginny practically pouring it out the window on her trips. A lot of my money is invested in good, solid businesses that are making more money. Let me use it to help you." 

She nodded, reluctantly. She did not like taking his money, but there was no other way. 

"I don't know much about Wizarding Family Law myself," he continued, "nor do I know any solicitors who are good in the field. But, I had an idea last night. I ran into Draco Malfoy yesterday." 

Hermione frowned at the name of the blond wizard. 

"He was pissed off at Ron, because he brought him in for some questioning. You know how Ron is; he is always accusing the Malfoys of something. So maybe we could ask him for some advice. He must know some good solicitors." 

"You really think he would help?" she looked sceptical. 

"Yeah. It would be like getting back at Ron." 

"But all the purebloods have been furious with me, telling me that I should go back to Ron. He is a pureblood too, Harry," she pointed out. 

"True, but he said something that got me thinking. Do you know the differences between Light and Dark Wizards?" he asked the question that had been bothering him for a while. 

"Dark Wizards do evil magic, Light Wizards do good." Hermione frowned. 

"That's what I thought. Then I realised that's something we had learned from the Weasleys. So, I went to the bookstore and searched for anything on the subject. I found an old book in the used section and last night, I read a little of it. It's about Dark Wizards," he started to explain. "Apparently, the terminology doesn't even refer to using a type of magic, rather it's cultural. Light Wizard Culture has been dominant for several centuries. The author actually claims that she's afraid Dark Wizards will die out and that all their traditions will be lost. She further explained that Dark Wizards are called such as they follow the path of the Goddess, who is symbolised by the moon, and because of that they mostly perform rituals at night. For them, women are very important and unlike Light wizards, Dark Wizards don't rule over their wives." 

"That's so fascinating, Harry. I can't believe I never looked this up!" She was clearly miffed about Harry being more knowledgeable than her on a subject. 

"It's okay, Hermione. Apparently, the book that I found is rare and was the last one printed on the subject. It's over a hundred years old! The Shoppe owner explained this to me when I bought it. And I only know that much, I was too sleepy to read more last night," Harry said, blushing. He was used to Hermione knowing everything and him listening with wide eyes. 

"So you think that Malfoy would have a different attitude towards my divorce because he's a Dark Wizard?" 

"Yes. How about we send him an owl after breakfast and request to meet him?" 

"Good idea," Hermione said, perking up. It felt good to be doing something about her situation. 

Once they were finished with their meal, they composed a letter together for Malfoy. Harry sought out his owl, Scops. He was a Common Scops Owl and had his own little space in the attic. The bird was much smaller than Hedwig had been, kind of funny looking too, with big round eyes, but Ginny thought it was cute, and so they bought it at the time when they got married. She had told him that it was ridiculous that he was still mourning his late owl, but on many lonely days she had been his only companion. Harry found Scops sleeping on his perch and had to nudge him awake. Scops puffed and huffed, but stuck out his leg dutifully. His large eyes widened in bewilderment when he was told his destination, but left for Malfoy's home all the same. 

After they had watched the owl quickly disappear through an open window, Harry smiled reassuringly at Hermione and suggested she lie down for a bit. She looked somewhat relieved that they had the beginning of a plan, so she was optimistic about getting a small nap. Harry decided to continue reading the book he had purchased, in order to prepare for his meeting with Malfoy. If the blond would meet him, that is. So, Harry went to his own room and lay down on the top of the covers, pillows fluffed up behind him and started to read. 

He was just starting on chapter two, when Scops landed on his nightstand and impatiently held his leg out. Harry took the message off the limb and the owl immediately flew off, not even waiting for a word from its owner. Harry remembered how he used to talk to Hedwig and felt a pang in his heart again. He chased it away with a sigh and opened the parchment. 

> _Potter,_
> 
> _The Mudblood's problems don't really concern me, especially since she was stupid enough to marry a Weasley. However, you are right, I would love to see Weasel lose against her and get taken down a peg. He has been too smug for my taste since the war for my taste and not to mention annoying. Still, don't think I'm going to help you out of the goodness of my heart. You're going to have to give me what I want in return. I will be Flooing into your 'house' - and I use the term loosely here - at 1pm, sharp. Be ready to receive me, Potter, and make sure the Mudblood is presentable. I know the Weasleys are still paupers, but I don't want to actually see it._
> 
> _Regards,_
> 
> _Draco Lucius Malfoy_

Harry shook his head at the blunt letter. Malfoy had apparently not changed one bit, but he needed him and the prat knew it. He glanced at his watch and noted that it was only 11am, but he knew how long women needed to get ready, so he went to rouse Hermione all the same. She wasn't hard to wake up, so once her eyes focused on him, he showed her the letter. Her eyes widened and she rushed to the bathroom after grabbing her beaded old beaded purse. Harry could hear clothes falling onto the floor. 

"What am I going to do, Harry, I have nothing to wear!" she shouted from the bathroom. 

"You could wear one of Ginny's fancier robes. She has so many, I doubt she has even ever worn half of them," he said, remembering the many times that the end-of-the-month reports from his Gringotts vaults had listed the names of a clothing establishments. He didn't even know there were so many places to buy robes! Not to mention that robes could cost that many Galleons. 

"Are you insane, Harry?" she practically screeched at him. She had the shower going by then, but she had obviously used some sort of a charm to make sure that she heard Harry through the sound of the water. "On the one hand, Ginny is shorter and way skinnier than I am. I'd never fit into anything and using charms on those clothes would ruin them. I've seen what she wears all the time and those fabrics don't take to enlarging charms well. Besides, the way we are now, she'd be really cross with me if I wore anything of hers." 

"You could quickly Apparate over to Gladrags. I know Ginny is a big customer of theirs and I would pay for it. Just tell them that I sent you and I'm sure they'd put something together for you in no time." Harry hoped he had arrived at a good solution. Women and their clothes... 

"I'm not sure. I'm not really comfortable taking your money," she said as the water stopped and she was getting out of the shower. 

"Hermione, you know that I want to help you. I have so much money, what is it good for if not for helping out my friends?" He sighed. Money was always such an issue. He was always glad to help his friends with it, or buy anything Ginny or the kids wanted. He just wished Hermione would not make a big deal out of it. 

"All right, Harry," she said as she opened the door. She was probably wearing one of her newer robes, which meant it was only a few years old, but still looked rather worn. However, her hair fell down her back in long waves and her make-up was really nice. Over the past years, she had obviously learned some better grooming charms. 

"You can Floo there and tell them that you need the robes in a hurry. Maybe later we could go back and get you some other clothes. If we're associating with Malfoy for a length of time, you'll need it," he explained. 

"You're right," Hermione acceded. 

"Why are you making such a fuss over your appearance anyway? It's so unlike you," Harry noted. 

"My mother always taught me that if you ask for something from someone, you always have to make sure to get on their good side first. He spoke in his letter about my appearance and I'm just afraid that if he doesn't see me make an effort, then he'll just turn around and Floo right back. I'm also worried about what he'll want in return for his help." She really did sound worried. "What if he asks for something devious or illegal?" 

"We'll see, Hermione. I'm sure he won't ask for anything he knows we are not prepared to give." 

She just nodded and went to use the Floo. Harry went to Dinky to notify him that he should start lunch and once he was finished, he should put Hermione's under a stasis charm. After that, he went up to read some more. By the time he sat down to eat a delicious-looking meal of chicken and vegetables, it was already past noon. He didn't want to wait for his friend, because he wasn't sure if she had time to eat before the meeting with Malfoy. 

He was almost done when the Floo flared to life and she stepped out in dark blue robes that were embroidered with a white leaf pattern along the edges. Harry assumed the cut must have been in style, because he had seen the more well-dressed witches wear similar robes on Diagon Alley, but he didn't really know what was different about it. Clothes would always be just clothes for him. Hermone was beaming in them though and that was what really mattered. Apparently the shopping had done her good emotionally. She sat down at the table in front of him after her chipper greeting and once the elf served her meal, she began to eat. It was obvious that she was taking care not to get something on her new robes, she was eating so slowly. 

Harry finished his dinner quickly and he wondered whether or not he should change. He looked down at his house clothes, the rather worn loose trousers and the T-shirt and then looked over at his friend. Changing would be a good idea, he decided and let Hermione know that he would be in his rooms. So he went up to his bathroom, cleaned his teeth and face. Afterwards he selected his favourite emerald-green shirt and black trousers. He reluctantly put on a short black robe. He was still not used to wearing such things outside of work, but the shorter ones were not such a bother. They were quite modern as well, he supposed. He hadn't seen short robes until a few years before, and he was glad that they appeared as they weren't as annoying as the long kind. He didn't bother with his hair as he knew it would be in vain, so he went down to see that Hermione had already finished her meal. 

At one o'clock they were both standing before the fire in the living-room and the fire changed to green to signal that the Floo was being used. A second later Draco Malfoy regally stepped out, his pale blue robes flaring out behind him. He would have made Snape proud.


	5. Malfoy on How The Wizarding World Works

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betad by Hazel and Icicle.

“Hello, Potter, long time no see,” Malfoy greeted, smirking at the two. 

“Malfoy.” Harry nodded, not taking his eyes off the man. 

“And if it isn’t Hermione. You clean up well,” he remarked as he looked her over. Hermione couldn’t decide if it was a compliment or an insult, so she just ignored the remark. 

“Thank you for coming, Malfoy,” she decided to say. 

“Let’s sit down,” the host proposed as he felt awkward just standing around. At that Malfoy took a seat in the chair and the two friends occupied the sofa that was at a 90-degree angle to the other furniture. The blond man looked around the room with obvious distaste. Harry couldn’t understand why, Ginny had tried to put into that room an opulent elegance. Frankly, he didn’t care for it much, because all the seats were rather uncomfortable, but it was what Ginny had wanted. He had thought that Malfoy would be pleased with the room at any rate. 

“Tea?” Hermione asked suddenly. She seemed a bit nervous. 

“No thank you. Let’s get to business, shall we?” he suggested. The other two people nodded. “As I understand, Hermione would like to divorce her husband, finally, and keep her children as well.” 

“That is correct,” she said. 

“Are you sure they are both the Weasel’s?” 

“Yes, of course, Malfoy.” She was a bit irritated by his question. 

“I’m only asking because if they were not, then you could just reveal that fact and they would be yours. Of course, you can’t lie and say they are not, because a simple paternity spell would reveal it. Anyway, in this case, you will have to prove that he is an unfit father. That is the hardest thing to do. Perhaps he has beat or starved the children?” he tried. 

“No. He’s a great father.” 

“Isn’t that a surprise. I though with his temper he would let loose a few punches now and then. If he’s so great, why are you divorcing him anyway?” Malfoy gave her a smirk, making it obvious to her that she had made a mistake in marrying the man in the first place. 

Hermione took her time gathering her thoughts. Malfoy tended to rattle everyone and she had grown so unused to communicating with anyone who wasn’t family. She had been too busy with trying to be the perfect wife and mother. 

“He allows me no freedom. He wants everything to be his way and for me to be his meek little wife. I know I have been for some years, but I don’t want to be anymore. I want to work - to become a healer. All he wants to do is produce more children. He knows we would not be able to afford any more, but he says he wants to have the most children out of all his brothers. I told him I don’t want to do that, but he just ignored me,” she explained, all of it coming out in a rush. 

“I see,” Malfoy said, nodding to himself. “If he came here and told you that he had changed his mind and he will allow you to do all that, would you go back to him?” 

“No.” She shook her head. “The things he has said to me since then, the way he’s acted, I could never go back to him. In fact, it makes me wonder why I had married him in the first place.” 

“Oh? Is that so?” He seemed puzzled. “In school everyone knew you two would get married. Though I didn’t understand it myself. A smart witch like you marrying a big stupid oaf like him … such pairings never work.” 

“Oh really? You are such an expert in relationships, Malfoy?” she said, not being able to let that slide. “I never heard of you dating anyone. Your marriage just came out of the blue.” 

“It was arranged when she was only a few months old. We both knew that and had such expectations of each other. She has her wing in the manor and I have mine. That’s how these things work in our world,” he informed her. 

“So you expect nothing and get nothing. Doesn’t sound like a happy marriage,” Hermione pointed out. 

“Happiness is not the purpose.” Malfoy seemed irritated with her prying into his life. “We have a son and my family has an heir. That’s all that matters. She can do whatever she wants as long as she doesn’t bring a shame on my name, or a bastard in my house. I don’t care. Nevertheless, your expectations in a marriage are different. He would have never meet your expectations, even I could see that from Slytherin.” 

“Hermione, Malfoy, this is not leading us to anything.” Harry tried to take up the role of referee. “Malfoy, can you think of another way that Hermione could get her children? Maybe a solicitor would be of help.” 

“Potter, I know the laws as well as any solicitor. I’ve been studying them since I could read. The law was written to prevent women who are divorcing their husbands from getting their children. The little lenience it gives is only there to prevent a bastard from inheriting or a child from being harmed. Magical children are highly valued and there are many laws in place to prevent abuse. But if the Weasel does not abuse his children in any way, shape, or form, then he can keep them,” Malfoy explained to the frustrated duo before him. 

“What if we changed the law?” Hermione asked. Harry almost smiled; his best friend was still the revolutionary that she had been in school. 

“That’s not easily done.” He shook his head at the crazy notion. “Ever since the end of the war the Dark Families, well, what remained of them anyway, have been trying to bring about changes in many laws. We have realised that brute force will not save our culture from Muggles, so now we are trying to change the education system in order to better integrate the Muggle-borns into our culture. It’s my project, but I’m not getting anywhere with it. The Light Families are in majority and they are opposed to any sort of change. They claim that things are fine the way they are.” He frowned. “This is unimportant now though. With the Light Families in charge of the Wizengamot, you’ll never change the divorce laws.” 

“What does the Wizengamot have to do with anything?” Harry asked, clueless as always. 

“Oh, Harry,” Hermione cried, obviously distressed about his lack of knowledge. “The Wizengamot makes the laws. Seriously, didn’t you learn it as a part of the Auror training?” 

Harry sheepishly ducked his head. 

“I may have learned it,” he said, his face turning red. From the corner of his eye he could see Malfoy shaking his head in disbelief. “So could we change the Wizengamot’s mind?” 

“Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Thinks-He-Can-Do-Anything. No we can’t change their bloody minds, Potter!” Malfoy was getting very irritated by the things coming out of the other man’s mouth. He took a deep breath to still himself. His voice was calm as he went on. “The Wizengamot is divided up into two parts, as always: the Light and the Dark Families. Both have their own agendas. You may be able to sway a few families on minor issues, but not on major issues like family law, or education. Especially not since Arthur Weasley holds three votes in his hands!” 

“He does?” The surprise was clear on Harry’s face and Malfoy looked ready to punch him. 

Hermione stood up and poured a glass of Firewhisky. She handed it to the blond and he drank it without even glancing at the glass. He put it down onto the coffee table empty, but the fury was gone from his countenance. 

“But the Weasleys are still poor. If they had seats in the Wizengamot, wouldn’t they have more money?” Harry reasoned, taken aback by Malfoy’s lack of control. Apparently, they were discussing one of his sore spots. 

“The Wizengamot members don’t get paid. It’s a position of honour, not a job. Honestly. No wonder Weasley holds your positions for you,” he said in a huff. 

“I have a position in the Wizengamot?” Harry said, and then almost cried out as Malfoy’s eyes were clouding again. “This is the first time I heard about it!” he shouted, attempting to calm the other man. 

“Wait, you didn’t _know_?” He calmed instantly, but a perplexed look stayed on his face. “You have the Black and the Potter vote. It’s what sways the whole establishment to the side of the Light Families. Luckily many of the Darker Families managed to keep their positions by foreign relatives moving into the country and taking their place, but the Black vote was lost as you inherited it. That gave more advantage to the Light Families, when before they were only ahead by one vote.” 

“Malfoy, honestly, this is the first time I've heard about this. I know that the Light Families have been in power for a while, but I didn’t know how that came about,” Harry pleaded. He wanted to hear everything. 

“All right, Potter.” Malfoy had probably realised that that little bit of history was never taught at school and Potter obviously had no interest in politics, so he would not have found out on his own. Thus, he settled back in his really uncomfortable seating and started to tell the story: “About 300 years ago the Potters joined the Wizengamot. They took the place of the Gaunt family. The Gaunts were a Dark Family, but intermarried too much and when not a single offspring was deemed sane enough for the position, they were voted out. At the same time, through an unfortunate accident another Dark Family, the Wenlocks died out as well. The Gaunts made even and the Wenlocks were the deciding vote. However, the Potters were a Light Family and they made it even. The Abbots played both sides as they seemed neutral at the time and managed to get in as well. Only when they had the position, they declared their true alliance to the Light Families. Thus, for three hundred years, the Light Families had the deciding vote,” he finished with a flourish. 

It took a minute or two for Harry to digest everything. He had no idea why no one ever told him that he had two votes in the Wizengamot. 

“I’m the deciding vote!” he shouted as he realised. Two votes meant that he would decide everything. “It’s simple, Malfoy. I take back my votes and change the law.” He grinned at Hermione and his eyes shined. 

“No, Potter,” he said, bringing an end to the dark-haired man’s good mood. “It’s not that simple. Weasley has the votes and you can’t just take them back whenever you want to. He was given the votes because you were unfit as a minor. Of course, it was Dumbledore, the Chief Warlock, who appointed him as the guardian of your votes.” He paused a bit, considering his next words. Harry got the sense that Malfoy wanted to remark on that piece of the past, but eventually decided not to. “Since you never claimed them, you still have to prove that you are fit to hold the positions. Only the others can vote you back in. So you would need to convince the Light Families that you’re on their side, while also giving a reasonable explanation why you would like to have the votes now. If they know you want to change a law, they’ll never side with you. Although, in order to actually change the law, you would need the support of one side.” 

Harry ran a hand through his hair. Politics was not his forte, but he knew where he could get help. Therefore, he brought forth his friendliest grin and directed it towards the man in front of him. 

“You could help me get it back, Malfoy.” 

“Fine.” Harry was surprised at how readily he had agreed. “But you become a Dark Wizard once you get it and support my educational reform. In exchange, I’ll support your divorce law.” 

The dark-haired man thought about it for all of two seconds, until he stuck his hand out. Malfoy eyed it warily, but then took the offered limb all the same. Once they shook on it, they knew that nothing would ever be the same. Now that Harry knew what it was really like to be a Light Wizard, he had no doubt that he would rather be a Dark Wizard.


	6. A New Alliance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betad by Icicle.

"Isn't that illegal?" Hermione spoke up. "Making a pact like that?" 

"No, Hermione, it's politics. People make such deals all the time. One supports the other in one bill, and then the other returns the favour. It's how things work," Malfoy explained matter-of-factly. 

"There are a few things I still don't understand, Malfoy." 

"Such as?" The blond man gritted his teeth in frustration at their continued ignorance. 

Hermione decided it was time for another drink and she got him another one. Once more, Malfoy drank it without looking, but couldn't manage to stop himself from the disgust showing all over his face. "Really, Potter, what sort of a Firewhisky do you keep?" 

"I don't drink it, so I wouldn't know." Harry shrugged. "So, you said you wanted to bring about educational reform. Why are the Light Families against it and the Dark Families for it? I would think that it would be the Dark Families that would be against Muggle-borns integrating." He leaned in towards Malfoy, giving him his full, undivided attention. The other man looked down at the empty glass, collecting his thoughts for a moment. 

"The ultimate goal of the Dark Families is to preserve Wizarding Culture. For the Light Families it's to preserve themselves. They are willing to sacrifice our way of life in order to continue on their names. They freely intermarry with Muggle-borns and use laws to make sure that these Muggle-borns are under their thumbs. If the majority of these magic-users leave the Wizarding world, it doesn't matter to them." He paused, readying himself for what he was about to reveal. "There has even been talk of revealing our existence to the Muggles. They think that the Muggles will just accept us and move on." 

Hermione looked at Harry with alarm at hearing this. They both knew that the Light Families were ignorant in their knowledge of the Muggle world and just like Mr. Weasley - they only saw the good side of it. They didn't know anything about how Muggles dealt with anything new or beyond their understanding. Still, they opted not to comment as Malfoy was explaining further and they needed to hear more. 

"The Dark Families want to keep the separation, which is partly why they used to be all for total separation, not even allowing Muggle-borns in. However, the newer generation - our generation has realised that a Muggle-born in the bloodline doesn't dilute it, because the magic is still strong. Regrettably, that had been the misconception in the past. Remember, the Dark Lord had been a half-blood, so are you, Potter, and Severus Snape was as well. These examples have led to new studies being conducted that have found that Muggle-borns are born when generations of suppressed magic combines in a person, manifesting itself in a great burst. Apparently, all Muggles have a limited amount of magic in them, so no one is completely without magic." He seemed very excited at that point, his grey eyes were shining almost to the point of twinkling. 

Harry realised that the discovery he had just hear about had opened new dialogues among the purebloods. He also feared that it could give new reasons to fight about in their world, but he hoped that this time they would be limited to the debate table and not escalate into drawing wands over it. At that moment he decided that he would do everything to keep that from happening. 

"I hope a new war isn't going to break out over these discoveries," he voiced his concern. 

"Not if I can help it. Usually wars in the Wizarding world require strong leaders that people can stand behind. However, if we are such strong leaders and we keep the fighting limited to words only, I'm hoping we can find a peaceful solution." He looked pleased at Harry engaging him more. " One way of changing how people think about Muggles and Muggle-borns is with the power of words. That is why we are actually introducing new terminology. Magic-users are people who are able to use magic. Wizards and witches are those who participate and live in the Wizarding world. So we are actually moving towards not distinguishing between blood but rather culture." He stopped to catch his breath. 

Hermione got up and poured some water for him from a pitcher on a side-table. She was frowning though, obviously wanting to say something on the matters that had been revealed to them. 

"You still called me 'Mudblood' in your letter, Malfoy." 

"True. Old habit. I didn't like you much in school, plus I always did like to rile you up a bit. The only thing I miss about the Weasel not being around is that he looked so funny when his face turned the same colour as his hair." They actually shared a smile over that image. 

Malfoy took a swallow of water from his glass. 

"So you found out that it's all right to marry Muggle-borns?" Harry directed the conversation back to the previous topic. They still had a lot to cover. 

"Yes. The knowledge is beneficial to purebloods. It addresses our concern about the magic weakening in the bloodlines. However, that is not the only reason why we're not inclined to choose Muggle-borns as spouses. Culturally the difference is rather large. You both grew up in the Muggle world and I'm sure you've had difficulties adapting to our way of life." He looked at them, seeking confirmation. 

They both nodded. 

"That is why I'm trying to push through an educational reform. It would integrate the ones like you both, better to our society. Our generation knows that we can't remain purebloods for long, so we're finding alternatives." 

"Why?" Harry cut in. 

"Why what, Potter?" Malfoy sneered at his interruption. 

"Why can't you remain purebloods?" Harry was genuinely puzzled. 

"Because we'd die out, Potter." Malfoy rolled his eyes. 

"Oh, yes, the inbreeding!" Hermione injected, before Malfoy sniped at Harry again. 

Although the blond did flinch at what she said, she only had to look at him to know that he knew a lot about being inbred. "If people in a closed community intermarry too often, like cousins with cousins, then there's a good chance of them producing unhealthy offspring. Unfortunately, even the wizards and witches who appear healthy often have problems with having children themselves." 

"Exactly," Malfoy agreed. "In my generation most of the families have only one child. Now that we are at peace, some of the parents are attempting to have more children, but they're rarely successful. We've been trying to hide it, but we can't any longer. The majority of the purebloods are in trouble. That is why the educational reform is so important to us. We're trying to preserve what it means to be a wizard along with our bloodlines." Malfoy sighed. "So - I'm willing to support you in changing the family law if you help me." 

He looked up, and as grey meet green, Harry understood that Malfoy was as desperate to bring about the reforms as Hermione was to get her children back. While the witch thought about her family, the wizard thought about a whole generation. The dark-haired man nodded in understanding, confirming their earlier pact. 

"So, how am I going to get my votes back?" he asked, smiling. 

"Well, Potter, you need to be voted back in. Before you ask, Weasley can't just hand the votes over to you. He could have when you turned 17 and became of age. Then it would have been the natural process of things. However, that was a long time ago. Since you didn't get them back then, Weasley became the official holder of the votes, not just their temporary custodian until you were available. The process in this case is that the members of the Wizengamot need to vote to have either Weasley remain the holder, or turn it over to you. If they decide Weasley should keep them, the next time he can lose them is when your eldest turns 17. Then he can do the same thing you should have done at 17," Malfoy scolded at him a bit, pausing in his explanation. 

He frowned at Malfoy for making a dig like that again. 

"Don't frown, Potter. I know you didn't know about your seats, but I still can't help my frustration over that. You have no idea how much pain Weasley has been giving me over the years," he said, misinterpreting the other man's expression. Harry was silently glad for that. 

"All right, Malfoy. I understand. So, I need to get their vote. How do I make my intentions known and start the process?" 

"Not so fast," Malfoy said, holding up a perfectly manicured hand which was impossibly dainty, particularly since it belonged to a man. Harry wondered why he just couldn't barge in and take care of everything, then he realised that politics was a positively Slytherin territory, therefore dealing with it as a Gryffindor would probably not be productive. 

"Potter, are you still here?" the blond man asked. 

"Yeah, Malfoy, sorry. I'm just realising that it's not going to be as easy as me walking in there, demanding a vote and going out with my Wizengamot seats, is it?" 

"Of course not, you git. Glad you no longer hold that illusion. You have to win them. True, you are the Boy Who Lived, but your recent actions had not endeared you to the Light Families' hearts." 

Said boy sighed at the complexity of it all. Although, he was secretly glad to have one of the ultimate Slytherins around to plan everything. 

"So you need to kick Hermione out and get your wife and kids back here. Then, you need to publicly renounce her and tell everyone that you want her back in her proper place," he finished. 

"I can't do that!" Harry roared and stood up. There was no way he was going to allow that. 

"You can and you will!" Malfoy shouted. "It's the only way." 

"No, I will not have Hermione out on the streets." Harry shook his head, still on his feet. 

"Harry, it's okay, you have to," Hermione said, though her quiet voice was a bit hard to hear over the blood rushing in his ears, but the way she touched his hand made him look down on her. "I understand what Malfoy is saying. They are not going to vote for you while you oppose their ideals. It will only be for a little while. At least you'll have your family back with you. I'm sure I can find another place to stay. It will be just pretending." 

Harry frowned. He still didn't like the idea, but he had to see their point and he again had to remind himself to leave the planning to the Slytherin. He sat back down. 

"So what of Hermione, then? I can't be seen giving money to her, or anything, if I'm supporting her return to her husband," he asked, genuinely worried for his friend. 

"Well, we have two options. You can either go back to your husband." He looked at Hermione, who shook her head in response. "Or you could take my help," he said, looking straight into her eyes. 

He probably didn't want to miss the astonishment in them at his proposal. 

"Your help? Why would you help me?" Hermione asked, flabbergasted, amazed, and generally confused about why suddenly Draco Malfoy of all people was offering his help to a Mudblood. 

"Well, it's quite simple. Now we are all allies in reinstating the Dark Families as the leaders of the Wizengamot. You have your agenda, and I have mine, but we all want the same thing eventually. Since Potter can't be seen helping you, it has to be me. No one would believe that the three of us are working on this together. Also, it would help me promote the integration of Muggle-borns into Wizarding society. I could even make an example of you by teaching you how to be a proper witch, not just a magic-user," Malfoy finished, grinning by the end at all the benefits the situation would bring to him. 

"Good. If you would have said you were doing this because we're all friends now, I would not have believed you," Hermione confessed. 

"I know. You are a smart witch, Hermione, in spite of having made the grievous error of marrying Weasley," he admitted. "Now we only have to decide how to go about it. First of all, Potter needs to have a spectacular, public falling out with you. Preferably shouting at the top of his lungs about how much he wants you to return to your husband," the blond man said, contemplating just how to set up the scene. "Then you move out and move into Malfoy Manor in a huff. We should be seen around Diagon Alley shopping and in the more posh Wizarding restaurants, to show people that I'm educating you and to generally introduce you to the upper regions of society. You, Hermione," he made sure that he had her full attention, "can tell all that will hear that Potter only took you in, in an attempt to convince you to return to the Weasel and once you refused him once and for all, he kicked you out. I will add to that by telling everyone how I heard about your plight and as the Weasleys are an old enemy, I decided to help you. Meanwhile, we also decided to show people that with proper education you can become a part of Wizarding culture," he finished, smiling even more at the wonderful plan he concocted. 

"How does the plan sound to you, Potter?" he asked, raising a blond eyebrow. 

"Great, Malfoy. Very Slytherin and such plans are just what we need right now. No one would suspect the two of us actually working together," he admitted, forcing himself to concentrate on the conversation. 

"I like it too," Hermione confessed. "I would love to learn more about Wizarding culture. Books just don't seem to have everything in them. The ones who wrote them were purebloods themselves, so they take for granted things that are strange to us Muggle-borns." 

"You have been trying to learn proper Wizarding culture?" Malfoy was clearly surprised at the revelation. 

"Yes, ever since I entered Hogwarts, but more so once I learned about house-elves. I mean, you probably knew all along that they were the ones doing the cooking and cleaning, while I just thought that it was all done by some magic of the castle. _Hogwarts: A History_ never even mentioned them." 

"Yes, I can see how this can be a problem. Maybe, educating you could help me work out the details on how to integrate Muggle-borns." Malfoy grinned. Harry realised at that point that intellectually Malfoy and Hermione were very similar. They were bound to have a good time together. "Oh, just one thing. Don't traumatise my house-elves by trying to free them, Hermione. You just have no idea what freedom actually means to house-elves. They would be out on the streets and subjected to general distrust by wizards. They have spent their whole lives in the Manor. Since the war, we have been treating them well. They helped the family a lot while the Death Eaters were living in my home and have been rewarded by getting their status as part of the family acknowledged. I'm sure if you ask them now, they'll tell you how happy they are," he revealed. 

"All right, Malfoy. I promise. Or perhaps I should start calling you Draco now?" she inquired. 

"Yes, that's a good idea. It would seem odd with my parents, my wife and my son around. We are all Malfoys, after all," he agreed. 

"What will your parents think?" she wondered out loud. 

"Oh, don't worry about them. They are fully supporting me in my legislative endeavours. Even Father admitted, while we were in school, how smart you are. You would not believe the grief I got over you beating me for top student every year." He shook his head at the memory. 

Hermione just blushed and smiled. She didn't know that she had caused him trouble at home. 

'No wonder Malfoy was trying to put Hermione down all the time,' Harry thought to himself. 

"Now that we have a general plan of action, we have to work out the details of the first step." Malfoy sat back with a serious look on his face. "What Wizarding venue should we select for your big row?" 

Later that day, when Harry was in his room, alone in his bed, trying to fall asleep, he was thinking of Draco. He too had taken to calling him that since it seemed like they were going to establish a working relationship, perhaps even a friendship. When the man wasn't trying to ruin him, he was actually not so bad. He let himself wonder a bit about what it would have been like if he hadn't meet Ron on the train, but rather ran into Draco again. Could they have become friends? He could have been in Slytherin House. The difference between such a life and the one he had would have been enormous. Still, he let himself be swept away in the fantasy and it even reached his dreams. He saw himself with the Snitch in his grasp, in dark green Slytherin robes, and smiling towards a Chaser Draco who grinned back and gave him a playful wink.


	7. Rolling the Ball

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betad by Icicle.

The next day found Harry and Hermione sitting in the Leaky Cauldron again. They had previously decided that it was the perfect venue for their big row. Malfoy had carefully constructed just what they should say. They had to script the entire conversation, not only the most public part, just in case someone was near enough to overhear everything. As Harry was not good at remembering things verbatim, he was just given a general outline as to what he should say. Still, it was with a heavy heart that he prepared for it and only his Gryffindor courage kept him from bolting. He just hated what he was about to do. 

"Oh, Hermione, I miss the kids so much," Harry began, trying to sound as authentic as he could manage. 

"I miss them too," she agreed. 

"You know, you could get them back easily enough." 

"Harry, you know I can't do that." 

"But you were both so happy together. Surely, now that you've had a few days without your family, you can see that without them, you are no one." He cringed internally at that part. Malfoy had insisted that Light Wizards regard an unattached woman as a person without aim or meaning. To them, the real purpose of a woman was attending to her husband and children. 

"We have talked about this over breakfast. I'd just like to have a nice, peaceful lunch now," she said and then took a sip of her water, pretending to hide her nerves behind the glass. 

"I have allowed you to stay in my house long enough." 

"What is that supposed to mean?" She raised her voice a bit and noticed from the corner of her eyes that the patrons sitting closer to them were eavesdropping. 

"You know very well what it means." Harry crossed his arms and glared at her. 

"Well, I may be just a simple woman, so I need to be enlightened by a smart man like you!" 

"Fine, Hermione." Harry was speaking loudly enough by then so that all who wanted to could hear everything. "You are a disgrace as a woman, a wife and a mother. You have gone against the wishes of your husband and when he rightfully demanded that you do as told, you left him. Now you have the audacity to want to rip your children away from the Weasley family - where they belong. With such an attitude you are no longer welcome in my house." 

Hermione just looked at Harry for a bit, her face mirroring the astonishment she felt. To an outsider, it appeared to be caused by what her friend was saying. Yet, it was actually due to the way that he had said those things. If they had not talked it over beforehand, she would have thought his words sincere. When had Harry become such a good actor? 

"As you wish, Harry." She stood from the table, ran out the door towards Diagon Alley and even managed to brush a tear from her face. 

* * *

Next, came phase two of their plan for the day. They had to find a way to have Hermione's path cross with that of Draco's, so in the Alley, they staged it that Hermione would accidentally run into Draco and his son on her way through the Alley. Harry on the other hand simply stood up from his seat, left a few Galleons on the table and Flooed home. All of Hermione's things had already been packed away into her old bag. Harry returned to an empty house. 

His phase two began an hour later, so he sat down to have an actual lunch. He did not enjoy it. He realised that he had not eaten so alone like that for a long time. He missed the kids. Ginny too, of course. She was his wife, of course he missed her. Once he finished, he went upstairs to continue reading his book. However, he stopped once he heard the Floo flare downstairs and the voice of his wife and of Ron could be heard calling for him. 

"I'll be right down!" he shouted back. It was time for his phase two. He stilled his heart, that hammered from nerves, for what he needed to do. 

"Ginny, Ron! What are you two doing here?" he asked, innocently. 

"Oh, Harry! We heard what happened in the Leaky today!" Ginny cried and stepped towards her husband to put her hands on his arms. 

"Oh, well, yeah. I tried to be a good friend to Hermione and help her in seeing what was right, but it didn't work." He bowed his head in mock defeat. 

"Well, at least you tried, mate." Ron put a supporting hand on his shoulder with such force that Harry had to keep himself from wincing. 

"I'm sorry I failed, Ron." 

"Oy, Harry, you'll never believe what I heard happened after she left the pub!" Ron was turning that unflattering shade of red again. "She ran into Malfoy of all people! And that's not the end of it! Malfoy offered to help her! It's all a ploy, of course, he's only doing it to annoy me. It doesn't matter whatever that prat does. The law is on our side." He grinned and headed to the liquor cabinet. 

Afterwards, they shared a glass of Firewhisky and Ginny promised that she would return with the kids and stay for a while. She felt that her husband just missed having a woman around. In return, Harry promised to take some time off from work to spend more time with his family. Soon enough, Ron excused himself and Ginny led her man upstairs for some fun before the kids came back. 

For some reason, in spite of not having been with his wife for months, Harry rather wished she hadn't made the effort. 

* * *

The following weeks went by uneventfully for Harry. The kids were back and he was glad for it. Even the short holiday from work made him happy, since he could just play all day with the children, at least when they weren't in school. Surprisingly, Ginny put a lot of effort into their relationship, more than she had since they'd gotten married, he noted. She would offer him sex at every opportunity, try to make his breakfast, even though she had always hated being in the kitchen. She called his diet silly and tried to feed him his regular fare of a full English with toast and juice, but he refused it and instead ate what Dinky had prepared for them. She tried again a few times, but eventually gave up. Once that came to pass, she focused all her energy on being very romantic instead. Picnic lunches in the park were a regular occurrence and Harry went along with them half-heartedly. He knew that he should have been happy with his wife's displays of affection and newfound enthusiasm for their relationship, but he was rather annoyed and weary of her sudden interest. 

He also heard a lot about Hermione. Ron would often visit in the evenings, sometimes with his kids. It was nice to see all five little heads playing together, even when the occasional fight took place. Still, Harry was not happy that Ron never seemed to remember that the kids were around and he would often use language that was inappropriate. Therefore, Harry took to taking everyone upstairs first and cast a good one-way silencing charm on the playroom. 

Once downstairs, the rants about "the whore" would start. Ron's rants were mostly focused on his wife's friendship with Malfoy. Draco had indeed started to introduce Hermione around the upper reaches of society. Ron was of course convinced that they were sleeping together. Harry did not even bother trying to convince him otherwise and just nodded along with both of them. 

"She's a disgrace, that's what she is!" Ron remarked after he consumed enough alcohol to drown a goldfish. 

"Would you still take her back?" Harry inquired, curious. 

"Of course, mate. She belongs with me. I didn't do everything to get her just to let her go! Not ever!" 

"That is quite enough, Ron. You'd better go home," Ginny injected and quickly helped her intoxicated brother into the Floo. It was a good thing the kids stayed with their grandmother that night. 

Harry was glad to hear it, though. That meant that they had time. As long as the divorce wasn't finalised, the children could still go to Hermione at the end of it all. In the Wizarding world rulings were rarely overturned and it was rare that someone even attempted it. Harry was sure that enough time had passed to move onto the next phase of the plan and he couldn't wait for it. Of course, the past weeks were rather pleasant most of the time, but once he started to move forward with his life again, he was loath to go back to being idle. 

Still, as he thought over just what Ron had said, he wondered a bit about just what Ron had done to get Hermione that had been such a grand effort. He couldn't remember anything special. 

* * *

Phase three went into action the next morning. Harry was having his usual breakfast and Ginny was still glaring at the plate. The kids were there as well, but they were a lot happier about their diet than they had been on the first few occasions. 

"Ginny, I've been thinking. Maybe I should move on from law enforcement," Harry started up The Conversation. They had drawn up discussion points with Draco, but he still had to improvise most of it. 

"Harry, why on earth would you do that?! You love your job!" 

"True, but it's dangerous and I would hate to leave you all behind. I was wondering if there was perhaps a way that I could help the Wizarding world without endangering my life." 

Ginny seemed to think on it for a bit, then the light came on in her eyes. 

"You could always take back your Wizengamot seats!" 

"Me - in the Wizengamot? I'm not good at politics. Wait, did you say seats? I have seats there?" He tried to recreate the astonishment on his face that was there the first time he learned of his stolen seats. He had wondered how Ginny was going to explain her father holding onto them without even consulting him. At the time though, he probably would not have wanted them anyway. 

"Yes, Harry," she said with a sweet smile on her face. "I know you're terrible at politics, so that's why I never told you about them. My father has been holding onto them in your stead. He has our seat and we thought that it would be simpler if he just managed your seats together with the Weasley seat. You have one for the Potter and one for the Black family. He's been doing a splendid job and without getting paid too." 

"Oh, the members don't get paid? I didn't know that." Harry was playing dumb very well and he actually couldn't believe how easy it was to fool her. "You know, Ginny, maybe I should learn more. This whole thing with Hermione got me interested in finding out more about the laws and such. Being on the Wizengamot would give me even more opportunities and it would be something I could do for Our World without putting myself in danger. We don't need the money I make as an Auror anyway, thanks to our investments. I feel I could really make a difference." He surprised himself by actually telling the truth, but twisting it in a way that Ginny would hear what she wanted to. Perhaps the Hat had been right all along and all this time he was just really hiding... 

"What a wonderful idea, Harry! Dad could help you learn everything and Our World needs such an honest man in politics. Of course that would mean attending even more Ministry functions, but nothing I can't handle," she gushed, since she never missed those in the past either. Harry recalled her Apparating in from Bali last year for a Ministry ball, and then she returned the next day. She clearly enjoyed every minute of being the centre of attention on his arm. Not that there was anything wrong with that, since women generally did love those occasions when they could dress up, put tons of make-up on and wear high-heels. Then complain about it all. Yes, Ginny did seem to enjoy the whole show. 

"How about I have lunch with Arthur and discuss it with him? I could owl him right now," Harry suggested. 

"Great! Write the letter and then take the kids to school and such. I have a shopping date with some of the girls." She jumped up from the table to kiss him goodbye and was already heading out the door. 

Harry wondered briefly what 'girls' she was talking about, then remembered that Ginny sometimes spent time with the women she met at balls and such. She was so rarely home, it was a mystery to him how she kept up her friendships. 

He wrote a quick missive to Arthur and then saw the kids off to their respective schools. As he was heading home, he received a reply from his father-in-law that they could meet that evening. He was glad that he had a bit of time until then as he found a secluded spot behind a tree in the remote area where the boys' school was and put on his invisibility cloak. Taking care to not lose it he Apparated.


	8. Rethinking the Malfoys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betad by Icicle.

Harry arrived in front of great iron gates that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. Both wings had an ornate letter "M" boldly standing out amidst the twisting metal that composed them. He admired their beauty for a moment and then without taking his cloak off, he passed through the gates. They did not open, but just as Draco promised, he was keyed into the wards and could enter unhindered. The walk to the actual house took a lot longer than he remembered and was a lot more pleasant. He repressed a shudder as old memories threatened to haunt him and fought them off with the present sight. It was a clear day, the sun shined on him with the last warmth of Indian summer as he walked down the path that led to the great Manor. On both sides trees lined the way and he recalled there being a hedge before, but now it was gone. Deer and birds sometimes poked their heads out from the leaves and gazed curiously at him, even though he didn't take off his invisibility cloak till he could no longer make out the gates in the distance. The trees themselves were a myriad of colours: greens, yellows, reds, browns adorned them signalling the best days of autumn. 

As he was nearing the house finally, he saw the albino peacocks he remembered prancing around a manicured lawn and on both sides great white fountains spurted out jets of water. They did not have any statues of people on them, even though he expected something like what he had seen during the war at the Ministry. The decorations on these fountains were just fish and flowers. 

Finally, Harry arrived to his destination and gazed up at the great twin doors that led inside. He did not see a knocker or a bell, and was just starting to wonder how he would make his presence known, when they parted before him to reveal Draco standing there. 

"Good morning, Harry. Are you just going to gawk at my house all day long, or do you actually intend to come in?" He smirked at the man before him. 

Harry flushed and with all the dignity he could muster walked past the blond and into the great marble hall that he remembered. In spite of his memories, the interior of the building looked a lot brighter and more welcoming than on that day over fourteen years ago. 

'With a much better reception too,' he thought as he looked upon Draco's smiling face and grinned back at him. 

"Good morning to you too, Draco. I was just lost in the memories." 

"Ugh, I hope this time you'll make much more pleasant ones. Anyway, Hermione is waiting on the eastern veranda with tea." He walked away, leading the other man around the great home. 

"How did you know I was coming?" 

"I felt it when you entered the wards. Always the Malfoys keyed into them know when someone passes through the gates, even in your case, when you have permission. You certainly took your time." 

"Yeah. Wasn't there a hedge around the road before?" 

"There was. However, they were made up of ward vines and the Ministry had Father destroy them. They are a sort of a dark plant. I'm glad, though, I just never liked them." 

"I didn't know plants could be dark," Harry wondered aloud. 

"Not really. However, they had the ability to kill intruders and I guess that sort of qualified them as dark." 

"Well, the walk is a lot more pleasant now," Harry concluded as they just reached a pair of beautiful French doors and through them arrived to their destination. 

There sat Hermione and she was more elegant than ever. The dark-haired man was reminded of how she looked at the Yule ball. She didn't appear so beautiful even on her wedding day. She wore a pale yellow robe that looked incredibly soft and her hair rested on her left shoulder in effortless, but obviously sculptured waves. She held a delicate cup in her hand with its saucer in the other that Harry felt very uncomfortable about touching himself, as two identical sets rested on the ornate white iron table in front of her, just waiting for the two men. 

"Hello, Harry," she said, smiling at him. 

"Hi, Hermione. Glad to see that you are doing so well," he said with a blush. He felt like a pauper amidst all the opulence. He had even put on his best robes that morning knowing that he would be coming. 

She shared his blush a little and watched as the two took their places in front of her. They both picked up a cup and sipped, though Harry had a bit of a tough time handling the delicate china. 

"It's so calm and peaceful here. You know Ron and the Weasleys. Always loud, shouting, screaming, and making noise. It gets a bit much after a while and I never had a place to escape from it all. I miss my children, but for the first time in a long while I can just sit and read. Draco teaches me a lot about the Wizarding world and the etiquette, so does Narcissa and sometimes even Astoria joins in. Narcissa is such a lovely woman. Sometimes she reminds me of my own mother," she sighed; she could never get over not being able to reverse her own Obliviate. 

"Yes, I remember Narcissa. She did seem like a lovely woman," Harry agreed. 

"All right, let's get down to business," Draco began. "Obviously, since you're here, you've started the next phase." 

"Yes, I suggested to Ginny that I leave the Aurors and take up politics. She was delighted at the idea and suggested taking back my seats herself, just like you predicted, Draco. I'm going to discuss it with Arthur tonight, so it shouldn't be long." 

"Let's hope so. She suspects nothing then?" 

"Absolutely." 

"Great. I'll leave you two alone to chat. I'll be in the library checking up on my son if you need anything," the blond man said as he put down his empty cup and stood from his seat. 

"Who would have thought," Hermione said as she looked back to her old friend from watching her new one leave. 

"Thought what?" 

"That Malfoy turned out to be such a great man." 

"Great? Sure, he's pretty decent, but I wouldn't call him 'great'. You surely didn't fall in love with him now?" he suggested. 

"Of course not! He turned out to be a good friend that's all. We do spend a lot of time together talking, debating, but it's an intellectual friendship. He is great though. He's a really talented politician with very good ideas on how to make Our World a better place and not just for purebloods. He's a wonderful father to his son. He makes sure he studies well, but also plays with him a lot. However, he does punish rule breaking while still remaining a loving dad. He is nice to his wife, even though it's obvious that they are nothing more than friends. If he does have affairs, then even I don't notice and you know how observant I am. To me, he is a gracious and attentive host. With such qualities, he fulfils the requirements of a 'great man' in my book," she finished and looked at Harry with a challenge in her eyes. 

"All right, Hermione. I guess you are right. That does sound like a great man. Who would have thought back at Hogwarts, eh?" He tried to laugh it off, but was clearly a bit miffed. Draco even sounded like he had finally bested him. 

"I guess I am a bit over-enthusiastic. Let's change the subject. Have you seen my kids? How are yours?" 

"They are all great. Ron brings them over sometimes, but I'm not very comfortable about having him over. You're still his favourite subject and it's hard for me to listen to him talking about you that way." He remembered back to their most recent conversation. 

"What about Ginny? I'm sorry you have to lie to her. She's still here then?" 

"Yes, she's staying until the divorce is final, which Ron doesn't want to be any time soon, so we do have time to carry out our plan. It is hard to lie to Ginny, but sometimes, not hard enough." He hung his head. 

"Oh, Harry, I'm sorry. Tell me." 

"It's just that ... since everything started to happen, I'm just seeing my marriage the way it is. She's always away, but even when she's here, she doesn't care for the kids much and ... for me neither. Lately, she had been acting more enthusiastic and loving, but I can't help remembering that before it was never like that since we got married." He sighed, remembering that up until a few days before, the last time they had gone on a picnic was still in his courting days. Not that he hadn't tried afterwards, but she always had an excuse. 

"Maybe my divorce made her realise that she should put more effort into her marriage. Maybe, she's afraid of losing you," she suggested. 

"I suppose." Harry didn't want to tell her that all the effort was making him more uncomfortable and more aware that he hadn't missed his wife as much as he should have. 

"What if we go over the plans for the next phase again? Just so that it can be fresh on your mind for your evening meeting with Arthur?" she offered the change from an obviously uncomfortable subject. 

"Great idea!" 

* * * 

Harry chatted with Hermione for as long as he could, but he did have to pick up the kids from school. He noticed the sadness in her eyes as he got ready to leave and had to reassure her that soon enough they could meet more often again. He left her out there, gazing out into the park, her thoughts most likely lost in how her children would love to play in the piles of dry leaves that characterised this time of the year. 

He went into the house to try and find Draco, so he could say goodbye. He didn't want to be rude and not bid farewell to his host. However, after about ten minutes of looking for the blond he realised that Malfoy Manor was so immense that he could probably look for days for him and still not find him. He was just about ready to try to call a house-elf, when he noticed a small blond head poking out from behind a modestly ornate couch in a sitting room. 

"Hello!" he called. 

"Hi," answered a shy voice and the child stepped out from the safety of the furniture. He put his hands behind his back and then looked up at the man before him. 

Harry realised that the boy in front of him was probably Malfoy's son. He looked so much like his father with his large grey eyes and white blond hair that he was mentally thrown back into the robe shop where he and Draco had first met. Although obviously, the boy was a lot younger than Draco had been back then. He estimated him to be about Albus' age. 

"My name is Harry Potter. What's yours?" he asked, crouching down to the child's level and stuck out a hand for him to take. 

"Pleased to meet you, sir, my name is Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy," he said proudly and shook the man's hand with all his might. 

Harry James Potter thought that it was a very big name for such a little kid, but didn't comment on it. 

"Nice to meet you. I'm a friend of your father's. He said that you were studying." 

"Yes, I practiced my writing. Are you also a friend of Hermione?" 

"That's right." 

"She has children too. Do you have children?" 

"Three, actually. One of them, Albus, is about your age," Harry revealed. 

"Oh, can he come and play? My dad doesn't have many other friends who have children I could play with." He made a sad face and dropped his head a little to look up pleadingly through blond lashes. The boy obviously knew how to look as cute as possible, so that he couldn't be refused. Harry hated to admit it, but it was working too. 

"I can't now, but some time later. Can you show me where your father is? I need to go home, but first I want to say goodbye." 

"Yes, Mr Potter. This way." He turned with a grin at the promised play date and started to walk away in a measured pace. 

The dark-haired man followed and soon found himself in a great library. As far as the eye could see, there were books standing on gleaming walnut shelves. To the right, he saw some winding stairs leading up to what he assumed to be the second floor. In the middle, was the study area with a few matching desks and further back, there were some very soft looking leather sofas. On one of the sofas, the man he had been seeking was lounging. A mug of something steaming was in his right hand and an open book resided in his left hand. He looked very relaxed as his trouser-clad legs were lying on the sofa exposed by the open robe he was wearing. Harry doubted that he had ever seen Malfoy look so incredibly at ease. He approached him, his footsteps were swallowed up by the thick carpeting. 

"Draco?" He found himself whispering the question as he stopped almost next to the blond man. 

"Harry!" He looked up, clearly startled, but still managed not to spill the liquid in the mug onto himself. 

"I just wanted to say goodbye and thank you again for taking Hermione in." 

"Oh, well, it was for my benefit as well. Besides, talking to her is great fun now that I don't have to compete with her." 

"Then ... goodbye, Draco," he said with a smile. 

"Harry, I think you'll need me to show you out." He grinned and got up from his couch. 

"Goodbye, Mr. Potter! Bring Albus when you can!" the little Malfoy spoke up from the doorway, where he was still standing. 

"Bye, Scorpius." He waved and then joined the older Malfoy on his way out of the room. 

"Who's Albus?" Draco asked as they walked down a corridor. Harry noted that most of the portraits were sleeping. He was glad as the blond residents of the house generally hadn't liked him in the past and he assumed that it only changed for the younger generations. 

"Albus is my second son. I think he's about Scorpius' age. He's six, right?" 

"That's right. It figures that you would name one of your kids after the old man," he said and the ambivalent feelings towards the great wizard could be heard in his voice. 

"Actually, his name is Albus Severus. I named him after the two greatest headmasters Hogwarts has ever known," he clarified. 

"Oh. I ... wow, after Severus. Did you know that he was my godfather?" 

"No." Harry shook his head. 

"He and my dad were great friends. Although it must have been weird for them, since Severus was a spy and all." Draco explained as he walked on. "Somehow, I think my father knew. He hinted a couple of times when Voldemort returned that I could go to Severus if something happened. I was such a fool that I didn't." His voice was so full of regret that Harry felt sorry for him. 

"You were a kid and Voldemort was living in your house. It must have been hard to think clearly at the time." Harry tried to lighten the load. 

"All I could think about was trying to stay alive and keeping my parents alive as well." He shook his head, trying to make the memory go away. 

"I know. I'll never forget the time when I found you crying in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. I ... I'm sorry about that curse. I actually didn't know what it did. It was stupid of me to use it, but that's the first thing that came to my mind and you were going to cast the Cruciatus Curse on me," he explained. 

"It wouldn't have worked. I sucked at the Unforgivables. Severus probably saved my life that day." His voice was still full of pain as he remembered his late godfather. "I was never really angry at you about that curse, even if I still have some scars. In a way, the pain felt like a relief. I felt more pain in my soul than the rips in my body from the curse. Then, what you did for us during and after the war ... I'll never be able to thank you enough for keeping me out of Azkaban. Your testimony on our behalf was what kept my mum and I out of there and gave my father a lighter sentence - even though he was such a bastard to you." He stopped and looked the other man in the eye. His own grey eyes were full of emotion and Harry was struck by how different he looked from the usual haughty Malfoy. 

"I knew you didn't belong there, in spite of everything and your mum saved my life. She saved all of us." 

"She only did it for me," Draco said. 

"That doesn't matter. You were a child and you helped too when we were taken here. That took guts, even though you were beyond scared." 

"You were a kid too, when you killed Voldemort," he pointed out. 

"I stopped being a child a long time before that. I don't even know if I ever was one," he added in a sad whisper. 

"I don't understand." Draco looked confused at the remark and the other man seemed to regret saying it right away. 

"You don't have to. Let's just leave the past behind us. We both wronged each other and then helped each other. I think it has all evened out in the end. Now, we will work together and make sure that our children will never have to know what it's like to live in a war." 

"Potter, when did you develop a brain?" he joked. 

"When you developed emotions," he countered. 

"You're right. I guess we only have to get to know each other better to realise the other one isn't so bad after all." Draco smiled and started walking down the corridor again. "I'm glad we're clearing things up between us now. We need to stand as a united front in the future and we can't let old grudges get in the way. We are fathers now and that changes things." 

"Yeah," Harry agreed and ran a hand through his tousled locks. 

They soon reached the entrance hall and Draco opened one side of the great doors. 

"Well, see you later, Draco." 

"Later, Harry. Once we are in the open, we could get all the kids together and have them play together." 

"What? You want to fill your house with Weasleys?" 

"I guess that's inevitable," Draco admitted with a wry grin. 

Harry just laughed and stepped out the door while waving goodbye. He almost skipped down the way to the gates, but still managed to put his invisibility cloak on once he neared it. Perhaps, the Malfoy family was even better than he had imagined. 

* * * 

Harry quickly retrieved all the kids from school as planned and hurried home with them. He was glad to see that his wife had not made it home yet. The kids went right up to their rooms, since the two boys had homework. Of course, as always, Albus was eager to start, but James needed a little push to get on with it. Lily wanted to play with her dolls a bit, but Harry knew that soon she would be down, chatting with him as she always did. 

Meanwhile, Harry tried to think through what he was going to actually say to Arthur that evening and tried to make himself comfortable on the sofa in the living room. However, his thoughts kept returning to the little boy had had met. Scorpius looked a lot like his father, but he was much nicer than Draco was as a boy. He was younger than when they first met, so maybe Draco was like that at one time. Harry shook his head, dismissing the idea of Draco ever being so sweet as his son. It must have come from somewhere though. The dark-haired man tried to recall Astoria Malfoy, wondering if she influenced her son. They had not met often, just a few times during Ministry balls. She hadn't seemed like a particularly warm person, a lot like Narcissa. Of course, the older Malfoy woman had only displayed her warmth in a time of crisis, so perhaps Astoria was like that as well. 

Harry had a difficult time figuring out the Malfoys. When he was younger, he thought that they were bad people. During the war he realised that although Lucius was a bad person, the rest of the family was just trying to survive in their own way. Now, his perception was changing again. No, not only his perception, but also the Malfoys themselves had changed. No one could live through a war and remain the same. 

Lucius Malfoy was not the big bad boogieman anymore either. When they first met, Harry had been genuinely terrified of him. He was magically strong, politically influential and economically powerful. By the time he was released out of Azkaban five years after the war, he had lost his influence. Also, rumour had it, a lot of his money went to the restorations and even property had been sold. Of course, his magical aura was still impressive, but it no longer had that oppressive edge that sometimes made people's hair stand up on their backs. He had retired from the public scene and even gave his family seat in the Wizengamot to Draco. He still attended balls and Harry had seen him around, but he was much more quiet and reserved. 

Narcissa changed a lot less, although she had never been a prominent figure. However, she seemed a lot warmer and kinder, especially whenever they came across each other. She would sometimes take his hand and squeeze it in greeting, as if she was still thanking him every time for all the things he had done for them. Harry had actually grown to like the woman from afar and hoped to forge a closer relationship in the future, after he could publicly ally himself with the family. 

Draco had changed the most. Even on the outside, his hair was not so slicked back anymore, and of course, he had the body and face of a grown man. Even so, he was still slim and frail looking, obviously taking after his mother in that regard rather than his father. He dressed very well and Harry had seen him on _Witch Weekly's_ "Best Dressed" list often. Not that he read the magazine, but Ginny sometimes pointed it out that he was never on it and that he should make more of an effort. She was always striving to get on their list for witches, but for some reason, never made it. She was even among the "Worst Dressed" a couple of times. Harry didn't know why, but then again, he knew nothing about fashion, which Draco obviously knew a lot about. For the most part, Draco lived a quiet life, much like his father, and didn't seem to be particularly vocal about his politics during social events. Harry assumed that is was because of his oppressed status in the Wizengamot. Perhaps it would change later on. If Draco was anything, it was politically savvy. 

Scorpius was a delightful boy. Cute and approachable, still smart and obviously intelligent, Harry was sure that he would get along with Albus famously. He wasn't so sure about James though. Sadly, his oldest seemed to like rough games, which he was trying to discourage, but Ron, as his uncle, was all the more keen to encourage the behaviour. Harry feared that since his relationship with Ron was only going to get worse, his eldest would suffer the most. He would not take well to the environment in Malfoy Manor, Harry was sure of it. Still, if he managed to support the gentler side of his son, perhaps he would calm down a bit. Not that there was anything wrong with boys being boys, but James sometimes seemed to try to ignite fear in the hearts of his younger siblings and his playmates. Harry wondered what would happen once Scorpius and James met. He was bound to see soon enough. 

Harry's musing was interrupted by the Floo activating and Ginny stepped out with her father and brother. Harry hoped that he could talk to Arthur alone and later, but apparently it was not to be so. He plastered a smile on his face that he thought looked genuine and stood to greet the newcomers. Once everyone was seated in the living room Dinky brought tea for all of them. 

"Well, Harry, Ginny says that you would like to take your place in the Wizengamot." Arthur got right down to business. 

"Yes, Arthur. I've been thinking that perhaps being an Auror is not really for me. I do have my children and Ginny to take care of and I'm not so comfortable risking my life anymore." He took a sip of his tea to gather his thoughts more. He really should have taken his time to do that instead of musing over the family of blonds. "I know that I've been terrible at politics. However, I hope to learn from you, Arthur. I understand that you have been holding my seats for me, so I request your guidance in my path." 

The eldest Weasley seemed very proud at being asked and Harry had to hide his smile behind his cup. So far, all was going according to Malfoy's plan. He had suggested that some flattery would entice the Weasleys to be as helpful as possible. 

"I think it's a great idea, Harry!" Ron patted his shoulder as he sat down on his right. "You're just not tough enough to be an Auror. I know you can take down the bad guys and all, but sometimes you're just too nice." He erupted into a roaring laughter at that. 

Harry tried to smile an agreement, but was actually not that happy about the comment. He usually thought Ron was too tough and quick to judge. 

"Of course, it's not as easy as me just giving you the seats, son," Arthur began to explain. "I would love to hand them over, but I'm afraid that the law doesn't allow for that." 

Harry put on his best puzzled look at Arthur's statement. 

"You see, Harry, the other members have to vote for it. They have a say in who sits among them. The Wizengamot is one of the most defining bodies of government in Our World, so it stands to reason that if there is such a significant change in their group that they should have a say in it." 

The only dark-haired man in the room nodded along, seemingly hanging onto the man's every word. Arthur's attention was also focused on him, his tea seemingly forgotten on the coffee table. 

"Therefore, you need to gather support for yourself first, my boy," he explained further. "The other members need to see that you are indeed a reliable young man worthy of such a position. Of course, as the 'Vanquisher of Voldemort' you are already qualified for many of them, but there are still many Dark Families in the Wizengamot and they would not vote for you. Therefore, you need the support of all the Light Families." 

"I see." Harry nodded and pretended to mull over the words as he drank from his tea, but he was actually thinking about what his next step should be. "How do I gather the support?" he asked innocently. 

"They will need to get to know you more. I'm sure once they do they will have no doubt in their minds about just how suitable you are." Arthur smiled proudly at what he said. 

"Oh, Daddy, I have a great idea!" Ginny spoke up and she looked very excited about what she was going to suggest. "There is going to be a Ministry Ball for Halloween! I'm sure all the members are going to be there. It's one of the biggest events of the season! We could all go and you could introduce Harry formally. It would be a great opportunity to make an impression!" 

Arthur smiled indulgently at his only daughter. 

"Wonderful idea, Gin. It will be a costume event, therefore, be careful in choosing who you're going to dress as," he advised. 

"Of course, Daddy. I have an idea already." She grinned at Harry, probably already picturing him in the outfit. 

Harry tried not to cringe and just smiled back.


	9. The Ministry Ball

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a one-shot companion piece to this fic, _Hermione at Malfoy Manor_. You should read that after this chapter.  
>  Betad by the wonderful Icicle.

Harry adjusted his purple robes in the mirror and cringed as the star pattern twinkled on them. Apparently Ginny's idea of the perfect man to dress him as was Dumbledore. At least she had relented on him spelling his hair long and silver. No beard either. Just the robes. For the umpteenth time Harry wondered why Dumbledore insisted on wearing such clothes, but the again, the old man had probably never made it on any "Best Dressed" lists either. 

Ginny entered their bedroom from the bathroom and smiled at him from behind old-fashioned spectacles. She was wearing a lot of tartan in her costume as McGonagall: tartan skirt, tartan robes, only her shirt was white. It was as if the clans of the Highlands had exploded on her, they all had a different pattern. Harry didn't think it was very flattering on her, but he didn't know anything about clothes, he reminded himself. 

"Don't you think we make the perfect couple? Just like they did," she remarked as she gazed at the two of them in the mirror. 

"Gin, they weren't a couple," Harry had to point out. 

"Of course they were!" she cried in indignation. "Everyone at school talked about it all the time. They had the perfect partnership. I just can't understand why they never got married." 

"Luv, Dumbledore was gay." 

"That's just a nasty rumour," she rebuked and wrinkled her nose. "Voldemort spread it to make us think less of Dumbledore." 

"I never thought less of him because of that," Harry revealed. "I know he was with Grindelwald in his youth. They parted ways over ideology, but I saw a picture of them and I know they had been happy at one point. Gods, it must have been hard to fight someone you once loved," he wondered aloud, but Ginny just scoffed at him. 

"Believe what you will, Harry. Still, this costume says to everyone tonight that you are going to be just as important as he had been." She slipped her arm into the crook of his arm and pulled him out of the room, down the stairs, straight to the Floo. 

* * *

They arrived to a lavishly decorated Floo entrance chamber and quickly moved on to leave room for the other arrivals. 

The Halloween ball was held at the home of the Minister for Magic, Hildegard Noble. She was a Muggle-born who had quickly risen in the anti-pureblood climate that characterised the decade after the Second Voldemort War. The home itself had once belonged to a pureblood family whose name Harry could not recall. 

They made their way through a corridor where already many people were milling about. Harry didn't have time to guess who they were or who they pretended to be as he was pulled along by his wife. Ginny was searching for her family. They had a quick look in the ballroom where a string quartet was playing a waltz and then stepped into the dining room, which was conveniently set up with a buffet table, a champagne table and several smaller dining-tables that could seat six people around them. 

"Oh, there they are!" Ginny exclaimed and soon Harry found himself seated at a table with Arthur and Ron. 

They greeted each other and sat in silence for a few minutes, just gazing at the various wizards and witches milling about the room. Harry also took his time to observe the two other men at his table. 

Arthur was sipping a glass of champagne as he greeted them. Harry tried to guess who he was dressed as, but had no idea. His father-in-law was wearing and old sort of robe in brown that was ragged, but on his breast he was clearly marked as the Chief Warlock. He knew this because the insignia was the same one as what they used these days. 

Ron next to him was undoubtedly a Chudley Cannons player. His orange robes clashed horridly with his hair and even Harry cringed at the sight. Of course, he couldn't identify which one because he didn't follow Quidditch all that much anymore, just the major events. The Cannons hadn't made it to anything important in a long while. The younger Weasley was currently doing what he always did when presented with a vast amount of food. He was shovelling it into his mouth, grinning around his mouthful. He quickly got up once his plate was empty, probably going for another helping. Harry stared after him for a moment, but quickly diverted his attention to Arthur. 

"Having fun, Arthur?" he asked. 

"Oh yes, lots. Hildegard got a great champagne. I do love the idea of dressing you as Dumbledore," he remarked. 

"It was a great idea, no?" Ginny grinned next to Harry and was clearly very proud of herself. 

"Yes, it was," Harry grudgingly agreed. "So, who are you dressed as?" He directed the question to the man before him. 

"Gawain Weasley. He used to be the Chief Warlock about five-hundred years ago. This was his actual robe. My family has preserved it for generations," he said proudly. That explained why the robe looked so old. "He was known for being a righteous man. One of the best Chief Warlocks ever to take the position. Yes, everyone in the family is very proud of his legacy." He puffed up his chest and smiled even broader. 

"Oh, wonderful," Harry said. He was sure that wearing the actual clothes of the man was taking it a bit too far. 

"Harry, better grab some of the food before it's all gone!" Ron exclaimed as he sat down. He was balancing two smaller plates, one on each of his massive hands. He managed to put them down safely before he sat down on his chair. "I don't understand why they never have normal plates on these occasions, just these tiny ones," he scoffed. "So, are you going to get something?" Ron looked questioningly at Harry. 

"No, I'm fine." Harry shook his head. 

"Oh, there's Linda! I'd better go and say hi." Ginny got up and was already shouting to her friend. Harry watched her go and looked to Arthur. 

"Arthur, where is Molly tonight?" Harry broke the silence that threatened to fall onto their table. 

"Home. She's watching Ron's and your kids tonight," Arthur replied dismissively. 

Then Harry remembered that Molly never did attend any of the parties; she always stayed at home. He silently scolded himself for saying something so stupid. 

"Well, we'd better get started with the mingling," the older Weasley said and they got up from the table, leaving Ron to his food. 

In the coming hour Harry shook more hands than ever before in his life. Arthur introduced him to everyone important, not just Wizengamot members, but Ministry officials as well. Harry had worked at the Ministry for some years, but he had never even seen half of these people. Granted, when at work he was either in the Auror Department, or out on the field, so he never got the chance to do much mingling. He was mostly of the opinion that the workplace was for work, not for socialising. However, it seemed like his prospective job was more about mingling than actual work. He tried to memorise the faces and names, but after a while it was all just a blur. He smiled at everyone, remarked on the brilliance of their costumes, kissed the hands of the ladies, and was generally trying to make a good impression. He did tire though and told Arthur that he would go and find Ginny, because she would be cross with him if he didn't take a turn with her on the dance-floor. He had gotten slightly better at dancing since the Yule Ball, at least enough to not embarrass himself. Arthur stayed with an old colleague and waved him away. 

Harry first visited the bathroom, as it had been a while and he had to toast a couple of times with his champagne to the Wizengamot. He gaped at the gold faucets he had found and remembered the elegant white ceramic ones at Malfoy Manor. He always held a sort of fascination of bathrooms, probably because so many things had happened in the ones at Hogwarts. Therefore, he often only remembered the bathrooms of some of the places he had visited and couldn't recall much of the other rooms. 

He first headed to the ballroom in his search for his wife. He couldn't see her there, but what he did see made him stop and stare. He saw Lucius Malfoy, as elegant as ever and dressed as Merlin. However, the strange thing about it was not the fact that one of the greatest Dark Wizard of all time wore the guise of someone so beloved by the side of the Light. The real reason for staring was the elegant woman on his arm, dancing to the waltz perfectly. It was none other than Hermione and Lucius was leading her around the ballroom to the astonishment of many people around them. She was beautiful in a green gown with purple trimmings and around the hems white smoke seemed to languidly dance to the music. Harry realised that she was dressed up as Cliodne, a druidess who cured the sick in ancient times. He remembered her from a Chocolate Frog card, because she was one of the more beautiful people on there. The smoke was also reminiscent of what she had discovered and held in her hand on the card. He couldn't remember what it actually was though. He thought that it was taking the image of a person in a very elegant way. He felt all the more self-conscious in his twinkling stars. 

First, he looked around for Ron. He would not be pleased and would probably make a scene. He was glad when he didn't find him. Ron was probably still stuffing his face. 

Second, Harry searched for Narcissa and there she was, sitting on a chair and chatting with some friends. She didn't seem bothered at all by what her husband was doing. Ironically, she was another Chocolate Frog card character, Morgana. She had a very elegant crown on her head, indicating that she was the Queen of Avalon. 

Harry's people watching was interrupted by an elderly wizard. He had been previously introduced as Bartholomew Mildew, a Light Wizard member of the Wizengamot. 

"Mr. Potter, if I could have a moment." 

"Of course, Mr. Mildew." He let himself be led to another room to the side. It was much smaller than the ballroom and deserted. They sat down on an ornate sofa that reminded Harry of what Ginny had furnished their living room with. It was just as uncomfortable as well. 

"How can I help you?" Harry asked. 

"Oh, I just wanted to see what you were made of, young man, without Mr. Weasley. You want to enter politics and that is a big step. I know you are a very reliable man." He fixed his gaze on Harry. "However, politics is a lot more complicated than the wand-waving you've been doing." 

"Wand-waving?" Harry was honestly puzzled by that and perhaps a bit insulted. 

"Yes! You've been an Auror. You went to and fro, waving your wand about and taking down criminals. I'm not saying that's easy work, but not exactly taxing on the mind. Also, I am aware that you defeated Voldemort, but that didn't take a lot of brains either." 

Harry was a bit miffed about what the man was saying. He clearly thought him to be stupid and not even a bit clever. He thought about correcting the bloke, but then he realised that perhaps it was for the best if he was considered unassuming and easily led. 

"Mr. Mildew, I know that politics is hard and that I'm not very knowledgeable in the area. However, that is why I rely on men like Mr. Weasley and you to help me learn how to become a good and valuable member of the Wizengamot. Over time and with guidance, I'm sure I'll manage." 

"Good, good. I was afraid you had the arrogance of youth and with all that fame many grow big heads. I'm sure I'll be able to help you a lot once you take your seats. Now my only concern is your wife." Mr. Mildew pulled his lips in worry. 

"My wife, sir?" He was confused again. 

"Yes, yes. I've heard that she had been away a lot these past few years and that is probably why you haven't had a child these past years." 

Apparently, this was another problem. Harry realised that he was being tested and probably not just the man before him was asking the questions, but the whole fraction as well. He felt the butterflies take off in his stomach, but forced them on the ground again to be able to concentrate on giving the best answer possible. He couldn't think properly if he let his nerves take over. 

"Ginny wished to travel for a while after Lily was born. Of course, I had to stay home with my duties as an Auror," he began. 

"However, for a wife to travel alone for so long..." came the interruption. 

"I only wanted to please my wife, sir." 

"That is fine, young man. However, if your wife leads you so easily, then how can you hope to lead Our World?" Mr. Milder asked pointedly. 

"You are right. I have become lenient with her," he admitted as there really was no way of denying it. 

"I suppose, you are young. I do recommend keeping her on a tighter leash in the future though. Give her another child and then she'll have to stay home. You do want to emulate Mr. Weasley in that, don't you?" 

"Of course! The more children the better!" He grinned broadly. "What excellent advice! Thank you so much for that Mr. Mildew, I'll follow your guidance." Harry figured that the best policy in this case was to simply agree with the man and flatter him as much as possible. Draco had said in his brief teaching that flattery could always get you out of a tight situation. 

"I'm glad to be of help." The man grinned back. "You do need it, but I'm sure that given a bit of time, you'll become an excellent Wizengamot member and a proper Light Wizard." 

"Oh, if I have men like you at my side, I'm sure of it." Harry hoped that he wasn't taking flattery a bit too far. 

"I'll be seeing you around, then. In the future, please call me just Bart," he said, as he got up, clearly finished with the assessment. 

"Thank you, sir ... I mean, Bart." Harry also got up and watched as the man went back towards the ballroom. 

When he was completely out of sight, Harry allowed himself a sigh of relief. He decided to explore the house a bit, rather than going back and perhaps facing another one of those conversations, in case someone else had different concerns. Therefore, when he walked out of the door, he went down the corridor to the opposite direction than everybody else. He peeked into one room after the other. He felt like the old days when he would walk around Hogwarts, trying to find secret places. Of course, those excursions mostly revealed dusty and unused classrooms, but the fun was in the walk, not the findings. He saw a great, but empty library. It wasn't completely empty, some shelves were occupied, but Harry only saw Muggle romance novels and none with more substance. He remembered the great library in Malfoy Manor and estimated this one to be about the same size. Clearly, the previous occupants had either taken their books, or the new one just didn't need them. It was a bit sad, actually. 

Most of the rooms were of course unremarkable sitting rooms. Harry wondered about why great houses tended to have so many, but couldn't really come up with an answer. Perhaps it was just a way of occupying space on the ground floor that was needed for the bedrooms above. 

He was just about to leave a dark room, which was only illuminated by the rather bright moonlight, when he passed a slightly open connecting door. From the next room he heard voices and not able to help his curious nature, peaked inside. There he could see Astoria Malfoy sitting in all her splendour, surrounded by other ladies and holding court. She was obviously dressed as a fairy as her magical brightly coloured wings fluttered behind her. 

"Poor Lavinia! I'm so glad she moved to Switzerland and can't see the destruction of her home!" she cried, her voice rather high and sounding very snotty. "It's obvious that Hildegard was brought up as a Muggle. No taste whatsoever." 

"So true, Astoria," agreed another woman, though Harry had no idea who she was, he couldn't even see her. He did decide that is was better to eavesdrop if he wasn't seen, so he left the opening, but still managed to hear everything. 

"How do you stand the presence of a Muggle yourself, Astoria?" asked another, equally high voice. 

"It is hard, but I try to stay away from her. Luckily, she was placed in the guest wing, which is as far away from mine as possible. She's Draco's pet project, apparently. He picked out her dress and everything. I really try not to meddle into his political affairs, but it is stressing to even know the woman is under my roof." Harry wrinkled his nose in disgust. Apparently, Draco's wife didn't share his views. 

"However, sometimes I do have to bear the sight of the creature!" she continued. "She is so undoubtedly common. Her parents were dentists, so she said." 

"What's that?" a woman asked. 

"It's some kind of a mediwizard. I wasn't really interested beyond that, I was just trying to fill in an awkward silence one time when I couldn't help being alone with her. She's so ugly too! Ah! I don't want to talk about her anymore! Primrose, who made your costume? That stitching is absolutely divine!" She changed the subject. 

Harry had heard enough and felt pity towards Draco for having such a woman for a wife. Then he remembered that according to him, they hardly ever interacted. 

He left the room and in another found an open doorway to the gardens. The night was rather cold, but he cast a heating charm and walked out into the moonlight. There were a few lamps lighting the path, but they didn't give the harsh and bright light that electric ones did. He spotted some lovely autumn roses by a wall and went to smell them. They had a strong perfume that felt heavy compared to the light scents of the season. As he was enjoying their fragrance, he heard voices coming from above him. Looking up, he spotted Draco and another man, whom he didn't know, gazing at the full moon. Harry tried to recall if he had seen him somewhere, but it was rather dark and the man had dark hair as well, just like most people, so he didn't ring any bells. However, he was delighted by the chance to do some further eavesdropping, so he plastered himself to the wall and even did a small spell to stop the twinkling of his robes. 

"This party is has been such a drag," the unknown man remarked. "Until you showed up that is." The grin was evident in his voice. 

"I aim to entertain," answered Malfoy. "You are right, though. It is rather boring. However, it's a great opportunity to show Hermione around. I just loved some of the faces when they spotted her among us." 

"Draco, I don't want to talk about politics. You know I don't care for that stuff," the man said dismissively. "What I'm really interested in is when we can go back to your house for some fun." 

"Adrian, you have a one track mind," Draco said with a little laugh. 

Harry looked up and saw that the blond man was leaning over the railing of the veranda. His hair seemed to sparkle in the moonlight and his amused features were easy to make out. The hidden man wondered about what sort of fun they were talking about. 

"You like me that way." 

At that remark, Draco turned his face a bit towards his companion and grinned, his pearly white teeth showing. 

"I most certainly do. I also like what I see and sometimes feel." He poked a teasing tongue out a bit. 

The other man stepped next to him and allowed Harry to see both of them. 

"You also like that I'm hassle-free. I don't want you to leave your wife, or declare me your lover in front of others. All I want is to slide into you and feel you moving beneath me. I want to touch your alabaster skin. Run my fingers down your spine and watch as I disappear inside you. I want to hear your voice cry out 'more', 'harder'. Scream as you spray your seeds all over those green silk sheets you're so fond of. Mind you, I'm fond of them too. I love how they show off your body when you lie down - legs spread, hard and waiting." 

"Adrian, you don't have to entice me, I'm already yours for tonight anyway," Draco interrupted the erotic monologue. "However, I do have to stay for a while more and you're making that very hard." 

Adrian looked down Draco's body and smiled at what he saw. 

"Hard is clearly the right word," he remarked and leaned in towards the blond. 

Harry was astonished to see them kiss. He had never seen two men do that and a little voice in his head told him to look away - it was clearly a very intimate moment. However, it was like watching a train wreck; he just couldn't tear his eyes away. The men kissed languidly, clearly very familiar with each other's lips. They were taking their time, enjoying the sensations if their moans were any indication. At last, Draco ended it, but smiled coyly at Adrian. 

"We have been outside for too long. Go inside and let me cool down a bit," he said in a suggestive tone, although it was clearly an order. 

"All right, Draco, but don't make me wait too long. I may go home with another bloke." 

"Like you're going to find someone as pretty as me!" Draco said rather arrogantly, but even Harry couldn't deny that it was the truth. 

The other man left, laughing at those words. 

Draco did take some time, just breathing. Harry recognised the technique as what men would use to get rid of their arousal. To his surprise and confusion, he had to do it as well because he was in a similar predicament. He couldn't understand why it happened. He reasoned that what Adrian said was so blatantly sexual, anyone would be aroused by it. He seemed to be faster at deflating than Draco, therefore, he silently crept away next to the bushes. As he looked back to take a final look at Malfoy, he could have sworn that the other man was looking right at him. Yet, he couldn't have seen him in the darkness, away from a lamp. 

Once Harry was at a safe distance, he stepped on the path again, letting the gravel make sounds under his feet. His thoughts were still on the blond man. He was obviously interested in men, so why did he marry Astoria? Then he remembered that Draco talked about how they were arranged to be married as toddlers. Also, it was possible that he was not only interested in men, but women as well. It wasn't that unheard of, even in the Muggle world. 

Harry pushed the disturbing images that Adrian's speech created in his mind to the very back, sealed in a box on top of shelf 'do not disturb'. He swore to stay away from all thoughts concerning Draco and sex in the future. They were too unsettling. 

He decided that he had done enough snooping for the night and returned to the ballroom to finally have that dance with his wife. However, what he found there interrupted his plans. Ron, Hermione and Lucius were standing in the middle of the dance-floor. Ron was shouting and beet red. Hermione was clearly annoyed and Lucius had the air of dignified amusement. None were speaking, though Ron had probably already shouted. The other guests were just standing around, like spectators at a sporting event. Harry supposed that, in a way, it was a lot like it. 

He approached the group and he was allowed to go near them. Finally, he stood beside his brother-in-law and had the opportunity to put a hand on his shoulder. 

"Ron, what is going on?" he asked to draw attention to himself, since the hand was just shrugged off. 

"This ... this ... woman is dancing, in public, with this Death Eater!" he screamed with rage. 

"You are right, Ron, what she is doing is shameful." He tried to acknowledge the cause of Ron's anger. "She is not acting as a proper wife should. Hermione, how dare you show your face in this crowd?" he addressed the woman in front of him. He tried to be just mildly hurtful, but still maintain the facade of a good Light Wizard. He hoped he wasn't sweating too much because he was deathly afraid of saying the wrong thing. 

"I go wherever I please!" Hermione told him with no warmth. "I am a woman and an individual. I don't need any man to tell me where I can and can't go, or what I can and can't do! These past years I've never stood up for myself, now I do. If I have to make an enemy of you because of it, then so be it!" 

"What?! I have tolerated such talk when we weren't together, but you are my wife and I'm tired of you acting this way!" Ron continued to scream and Harry was afraid his eardrums would burst. "You are coming home with me this minute! Or else..." 

"Or else what?" Hermione asked, her voice forceful, but emotionless. "What are you going to do, Ron Weasley? What can you do except bully everyone around you? I don't know how I could stand you as long as I did. I must have been blinded by love. Well, I don't love you anymore," she declared. "Lucius, I'm sorry, but could you take me home?" Hermione asked, turning to her escort. "I tire of this." 

"Of course, Hermione," Lucius answered. He even bowed a little and while executing it, he snuck a peek at Ron, who just sputtered incoherently. Malfoy offered his elbow to her and they both regally walked towards the Floo. 

As they passed, Harry noticed that Draco was standing behind them. The younger Malfoy man was wearing a smirk on his face and had his eyes locked with someone. Harry followed his line of sight to spot a dark-haired man of obvious Mediterranean descent with a similar expression. Harry realised that it was Adrian. Adrian smiled then, and quietly parted from the crowd in the direction of the Floo as well. Draco followed in a few moments. 

The crowd dispersed then, they no longer had any source of entertainment. Ron was left standing there alone, ignored by everyone. 

"Ron, I think we'd better go home now," Harry spoke into his ear as the music had started up again. 

He took the redhead's arm and looked around for the rest of the family. He soon noticed their ginger heads, the two of them huddled together in the far side of the room. He made his way to them and without saying anything they all went home. 

Harry just hoped that he had made the right kind of impressions during the course of the evening. 

In the morning, he made himself forget about green silk sheets.


	10. Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't read my little ‘spin-off' story, you can read it on most sites where I have this up. It's about how Hermione got ready for the ball in chapter 9.
> 
>  
> 
> As always, I want to thank my wonderful betas. I first want to thank Icicle, who stuck with me. I know I've been bad with updates, but she's much better at them. Then I also want to thank my new beta, the brilliant Faye. She is a constant source of inspiration and encouragement on Facebook. Go like the Drarry Shippers page too, which is admined in part by her. It's a great place to discuss Drarry fanfics. A bit of warning though, because the rating of the page is above 18, just like my story's and also my own page's.

Harry woke to the sound of someone banging on his bedroom door. He got up quickly and ran to it. Luckily, Ginny was always a heavy sleeper and didn't rouse to the noise, but Harry didn't want to take his chances. He swung the door open and Ron almost crashed into him. 

"Ron, what on earth are you doing?" he asked in a whisper. "We were sleeping. Go down to the sitting room and I'll put on a dressing gown." 

The redhead just stared at him, and then turned to walk towards the stairs, grumbling under his breath the entire way. 

Harry did as promised and in a few moments joined the other man on his couch. 

"Really, Ron, what were you thinking?" He no longer whispered, but still didn't shout like he wanted to. 

"Harry, I couldn't sleep! That Bitch! With Malfoy of all blokes! She's probably shagging both of them!" He sprang up to pace around; he could never stay sit while ranting. 

"Ron, it's none of your business anymore," he tried to placate his former best friend. "She left. You're getting a divorce. Go home and sleep off the alcohol." Harry could smell the cheap firewhisky from where he was sitting. 

"No, Harry! Don't you try to send me home! That bitch is still wearing my name and as long as she does, whatever she is up to reflects on me." 

"But what can you do about it?" 

"I can do something! I'm going to go and speed up the divorce process." There was conviction in his voice in spite of all the alcohol. "I can do it. I just haven't because I hoped I could get her back. Well, not anymore!" 

Harry winced. They still needed time to get him into the Wizengamot and change the law. However, it seemed like the divorce could be finalised soon, and once it was, it was doubtful that Hermione could get her children back. He was furiously trying to think of a way to stop Ron, but he was still half asleep and came up blank. He had to contact Draco and Hermione. Since he couldn't think of a way to stall him, Harry decided to support Ron. 

"You're right, Ron. However, you need to calm down first. It wouldn't look good if you showed up in front of a person of importance not having slept and in the same robes you had on for the Ball," Harry tried to reason with the man. He really was still in his costume and he had obviously spent the night drinking. 

"Fine, Harry. Have it your way. I'm going home. Tomorrow, I'm speeding things up," Ron swore. 

As the fire in the fireplace changed back to its normal colour, Harry sighed in relief. He quickly penned a letter to Hermione and Draco, and then sent it through the Floo. After that, he climbed back up to his bedroom, hoping to get a few more hours of sleep. 

Harry didn't get as much shut-eye as he had hoped; however, because he was woken again rather rudely a few hours later. It was another Weasley, though this one happened to be his wife. She was shaking him and calling out his name. He groaned and mumbled something unintelligent that he wanted to mean ‘go away', but he was unsuccessful as Ginny was relentless. 

"Fine, fine, I'm up," he managed to get out. 

"Harry, you have to see this," she urged. 

"Can't it wait ‘til tea?" He tried to stall as he was really not in the mood to try to deal with more problems. 

"No, Harry. Get up, it's noon already." She continued to shake him. 

Harry knew his wife enough to determine that she would not give up. With a sigh, he sat up and looked at her with an annoyed expression. 

"Very well, here you go." She shoved the _Daily Prophet_ into his lap and stormed out with a huff. 

Harry guessed that there was something unpleasant in the rag and scoffed at it before finally locating the first page among the bits of paper. There was an unflattering picture of Ron right under the headline: "Weasley Goes Insane". It depicted him trying to attack Malfoy the previous night. Harry read the article and saw that it did not only describe Ron's actions as unsound, but his choice of attire as well. Harry tried not to laugh aloud at how true that happened to be. He did have to think about an appropriate way to handle the article that would be along the lines of his actions so far. Therefore, as he got up and put on a robe to go down for lunch, he put a scowl on his face. 

Ginny was waiting for him in the sitting room and jumped up when she spotted him. 

"What are we going to do about this terrible article, Harry?" she demanded. 

"What can we do indeed," he pretended to ponder the issue as he headed to the dining room, his wife close on his heels. "I don't think there really is anything we can actually do. There is nothing in the article that is strictly speaking untrue. Though it is malicious." He sat down at the head of the table, looking around expectantly. "All we can do is try to keep Ron from attacking people." 

"But Harry!" Ginny whined. 

"No buts," he said, trying to be more determined with his wife just as he promised the night before. "Now, how about some lunch? I know the kids are away with your mum, but we should still eat." 

"Lunch? When would I have cooked, Harry? You lent the house-elves to Mum to help her with the many children that stayed over." 

Harry completely forgot. He frowned and went back to their room. The day was not going well and he was hungry. As a child, he could live on a piece of toast for days; however, those times were long past and he was no longer used to hunger. He was slightly irritable. As he started to change into street clothes, he saw his wife follow him and begin to dress as well. 

"Where are we going, Harry?" she asked, excitement appearing in her voice at the prospect of an outing. 

"You choose." Harry wasn't all that interested as long as he got something. 

"Oh, can we go to that new restaurant just off of Diagon Alley, the Alchemist? Everyone is talking about it." 

"All right." 

"Put on some really nice robes," Ginny told him as she disappeared into the bathroom. Harry really hoped she wasn't going to take an hour. 

Almost an hour later, they Apparated into one of the designated spots on the Alley and arm-in-arm swiftly walked to the restaurant. Harry's stomach was making audible noises by then and he really hoped they were going to get a table right away. 

The outside of the restaurant was quite simple, painted a deep purple with dark green roof tiles. They walked in the front door and were greeted by a pretty young witch in long purple robes and a pointy hat. 

"Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Potter! Welcome to the Alchemist." She was extremely pleasant, but not in an annoying way. "I'll get a table for you right away," she said as she looked at the book in front of her. She seemed to nod to herself and gestured to her guests: "Right this way." 

As she was walking them to a table, Harry observed the room. It was a rather quiet place with an intimate atmosphere. The area was dominated by the colours green and purple. Harry actually liked it and he was curious about the food. On the tables he saw there was nothing that he recognised as edible. People seemed to be spooning bubbling electric blue soups into their mouths and carving up vibrant yellow twigs with crimson spots inside. He just hoped they tasted good. 

They were seated in a quiet corner and were handed their menus. A waitress in a green short skirt and light green blouse was there in a second enquiring about drinks and Harry just ordered tea, while Ginny chose medium dry white wine. Harry opened the menu and frowned after the first three dishes. He had no idea what he was reading. Therefore, when the waitress returned and Ginny ordered, he just decided to go with the same. 

Their first course arrived in a few minutes and it was one of the bubbling soups. Harry expected blueberries or something like that, but tasted mushrooms. It was actually very delicious and the bubbling felt funny in his mouth. He polished it off with a smile and was in a much better mood after having something in his stomach finally, even though he was breaking his diet. Mushrooms were among the banned foods. 

As they waited for their main course, Harry looked around the place. Ginny was chattering about some restaurant she had been to during her travels, but he wasn't paying much attention to her. His eyes wondered to the very centre of the establishment, where a table was situated in the most prominent position. He assumed it was for people who actually wanted to be seen at the Alchemist. When he recognised who was actually sitting there, he stared for a moment, then blinked, then realised that he actually stepped in the middle of a scheme. For there she was, Hermione dressed in a most strikingly elegant dress, her hair tumbling down her shoulders in carefully sculptured waves, and as she laughed and flipped her hair, a diamond twinkled in her ear. 

"Is that _The Bitch_ sitting there?" Harry heard from next to him. He turned to Ginny and nodded. "Who is she with?" his wife inquired. 

Harry tried to get a look. He could have seen the person clearly if it wasn't for the waitress standing in his way. As she moved, he was astonished to recognise the man. He didn't know his name, but it was the same man that had propositioned Draco during the party. 

"I don't know his name, but he was at the party the night before," Harry explained as he turned back. 

"Maybe that is the man she is sleeping with," Ginny said with conviction. 

Harry just nodded and cast about for something to say. Hermione laughed again, though rather loudly and the redhead glared daggers in her direction. Harry was saved from further conversation by the arrival of their main course. It was a large piece of salmon under a glass dome sitting on top of something that looked like rice. The colours were strange again, as the fish was magenta and what was under it was bright lemon. As they took the domes off, the air around them filled with the scent of saffron. As he took a bite out of the food before him, Harry was transported to a warm and cosy place. The garnish turned out to be some sort of pastry, but had a nutty flavour. As they put down their forks, finished with the meal, both seemed to be in a better mood. 

Harry took a peak at Hermione and spotted her just leaving in the direction of the ladies' room. It came to him that it would be a perfect opportunity to talk to her, as he could see that the toilets were further away, probably along a corridor as there was an arrow indicating which way to go. He excused himself and quickly followed his friend. He managed to catch up with her just as she was about to enter the room and looking around found a secluded niche, which was obviously set up with a table and some chairs for private conversations. There was even a curtain he could pull around for complete privacy. 

Once they were hidden, he cast a few privacy charms. Hermione just smiled at him proudly. 

"What are you doing here with that man?" He came out with the question right away as he had no time to waste. 

"Oh Harry! It's one of Draco's schemes. You see, we figured that if Ron heard that I was with a man, then he would assume that I was eager to get a divorce myself. Adrian is a great friend of Draco's and was the perfect candidate to play my anxious beau just waiting to find me single and available." She grinned and seemed most pleased with herself. 

"But, Hermione, how would Ron find out?" he pressed. 

"That was why we came to eat here. There is always a photographer about. The Alchemist is the most popular place right now. Famous people come here to be seen. I do applaud you coming here." 

"It wasn't my idea, but I suppose you're right. However, that man, Adrian, you said, is gay." 

"Oh, I know. He is very discreet about it though, so no one actually knows." She chuckled to herself at the little joke. "He loves to string women along just for the fun of it. How do _you_ know?" She looked at him puzzled. 

"I overheard him talking with Draco during the party," he revealed. "They seemed very ... _intimate_ ... together." He blushed at the memory. 

"Oh, I know that too. Draco said that it wasn't anything serious. Mind you, after living with Draco for weeks, I realised myself that he preferred men. You should have seen him today, as he was preparing me for my date. It was rather funny that the man was getting me ready to go out with his lover, but he was in his element. I may get him a Barbie doll for Yule with lots of clothes so that he would have something to play with once this whole mess is sorted." She giggled. 

Harry laughed with her and imagined the blond playing with an equally blonde doll. 

"Now that you're here, Harry, you can tell Ron all about my suitor yourself. Such marvellous circumstances!" 

Harry just nodded. They quickly said their goodbyes and Harry left to return to his table. Just as he sat down, their desserts arrived, cutting off the chance of any conversation. On the plate before them was a brown hill with canary yellow cream around its base. In the middle of the hill, there was a big hole. They were also given a jug and instructed to pour the liquid into the hole. As they did so, foam began to erupt from the concoction and the scent of saffron was in the air. It bubbled over the whole thing. 

"Harry, it's like an ejaculation!" she exclaimed, though luckily not loud enough for the people around them to hear. 

Harry blushed at the realisation that it was indeed so. Once it stopped sprouting, they both eagerly spooned the delicacy into their mouths. The base of the mound popped in Harry's mouth like popping candy. He thought the whole thing very clever and it was even delicious. Ginny kept giggling. 

As they waited for their bill, the conversation turned to Hermione once more. 

"We'll have to let Ron know what the _woman_ is doing," Ginny said, clearly annoyed. 

"Yes, of course." Harry tried not to grin. 

"He's not going to be happy about it." 

They both got up to leave, but Hermione and Adrian were still sitting at their table, apparently having a good time. 

When they got back to the house, Ginny immediately called her brother to inform him. He was livid, but she told him not to come over. Ron vowed to delay the divorce as long as possible. He assumed that they were just itching for Hermione to be free. Harry heard everything and smiled to himself at how well the plan worked. 

Ginny got up from in front of the Floo and swaying her hips, approached her husband. 

"Harry, we only have to get the kids in the evening. We have hours ‘till then. What should we do?" She arrived to stand in front of him and was already undressing him. Harry wasn't very interested, but he scolded himself internally for being a bad husband. Eventually, he followed his wife upstairs, trying to seem as eager as he should have been. 

* * *

A few days later Harry found himself in Malfoy Manor once more. Hermione, Draco, and him were sitting in Draco's study. Harry looked around, observing the many pictures of Scorpius. He had pictures of his children all over the house as well, along with Ginny. Though the more recent pictures were just of the kids. 

The coffee table before him had an assortment of cakes and other foods, along with a pot of sweet-smelling tea. Hermione assured him that he could eat anything. They had both broken their diets at the Alchemist, but returned to it by the next meal. 

The Gryffindor had told the others about Ron being eager to slow down the divorce process after hearing about Hermione's new beau. Draco was very smug that his plan had worked. He sat in the chair with a satisfied air about him and grinned at Harry over the rim of his teacup. 

"Hermione told me that you know about Adrian and me." He didn't beat about the bush that was for sure. 

Harry blushed at the memory and only nodded. 

"It's fine, I don't mind." Draco was amused by Harry. "I called you here because I thought we ought to discuss the next phase of our plan. Where are you at in trying to regain your votes, Harry?" He fixed the other man with a stare. Hermione looked very amused at how Harry shifted uncomfortably in his chair. 

"Well, it appears that I'm in a good standing with most members of the Wizengamot, though they have expressed concern with how I handle Ginny. Therefore, now I aim to be a proper restrictive husband to her. No more travelling and running about on her own." Harry couldn't suppress the grimace at the thought. 

"I do have to agree with them to a certain degree regarding that issue." Hermione nodded at what she heard. "I never did understand why you weren't bothered by her never being at home or with you? Since Lily was born, she had practically travelled the globe." 

"What is it, Harry, trouble in paradise?" the blond remarked. 

"No, it's just what she wanted. I ..." He fell silent. He just couldn't come up with a good excuse as to why he preferred his wife on some remote island rather than in his home. Ginny was his wife, the woman he wanted to share his life with. It's true that he had been very complacent in the past years and he did feel more energised since starting his diet. However, while he no longer wanted to go along with everything his wife wanted, he still didn't mind if she was away from him. 

He looked up, having realised that his mind had wondered far away. The others were staring at him and he desperately tried to think of something else to talk about. He wasn't comfortable about discussing his marriage with them. Hermione's marriage had failed and Draco's was never really supposed to work. 

"By the way, who is this Adrian person?" Harry inquired. 

"Adrian Conti. Son of an old Italian family. His parents were immigrants. Very well known in the upper circles of society." Draco waved a dismissing hand. "He loves to play games, so in case we need more help, he would be happy to provide it. I am glad to hear that you progress so well with the Wizengamot. What you need to do now is follow up on the contacts you made at the ball." 

"Follow up?" Harry asked back. He wasn't sure about how he was supposed to do that. 

"Yes. You need to call on the members, especially the ones that didn't receive you that well. Arrange to visit them with your wife, or have them over at your house for dinner. You have to build up your relationship with them. This will be beneficial even when you come over to the other side, because you'll know your enemy better." Draco grinned at him. He enjoyed the deception a lot. 

Harry nodded in understanding and took a swallow of his tea. It had a soothing taste that he enjoyed. He wasn't looking forward to socialising with those people, but it was for a good cause and he had done worse for a good cause. 

"How long do I have to keep up the ruse, do you think?" he asked Draco. 

"For a few more months, probably. We'll probably be ready at the start of the new year," the blond assured him. 

Hermione winced at the remark and Harry felt sorry for her. It meant spending Christmas away from her children. 

"Rose and Hugo are all right, but they do miss you terribly," Harry told her. 

"I just hope that the Weasleys are not trying to turn them against me," she spoke up. 

"From what I heard, when they're not at school, they're mostly with Molly. She's not very vocal about the situation though." Harry remembered that the last time they had lunch at The Burrow, the subject of Hermione was tactfully avoided. 

The witch didn't seem reassured by that. 

"I'm sure that the kids love you no matter what," Draco injected in what Harry thought to be an unusual show of support. Hermione wasn't surprised by it though and only smiled at the man. 

"You two are getting along better than at school," Harry remarked. 

"I think we both discovered that the other person is not all that they seemed," she revealed. 

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I was exactly who you thought I was back at Hogwarts," Draco said and looked down at his tea for a few seconds. "However, I did a lot of growing up since. I no longer think that I'm the best at everything just because I'm a Malfoy. Now, I'm the best at everything because I worked at it." He grinned and the others chuckled a bit. 

There was a knock on the door and Draco called out to the person to enter. It was Scorpius, who upon seeing Harry, greeted him enthusiastically. 

"What is it, Scorpius?" Draco asked. 

"I'm finished with my studies, Dad. I wondered if we could go flying." He was rather shy about his inquiry, probably due to seeing that his father had guests. 

"Well, I'd say we were rather done here." He looked at the others in the room to see if they had any objections and when neither was forthcoming, he knew it was all right. "Go and change, get your broom, I'll be along shortly." 

Scorpius said his goodbyes and dashed out the door. The adults smiled at him. 

"Well, I'd better be going." Draco put down his cup and stood to leave. "You can stay and talk some more if you want, Harry. Goodbye and see you later." He walked out the room, probably on his way to change as well. 

"I have to go home, Hermione. I'd love to chat, but I don't want to be too long in case Ginny starts to wonder." Harry was sad to go, but it was time. 

"Okay, Harry. I'll go and watch the boys fly then." Harry was glad to see that the loneliness was no longer in her eyes. She apparently enjoyed her time in Malfoy Manor and Harry was amazed by that. Who would have thought? 

As the Muggle-born witch lead him out through the maze of corridors, he noted how comfortable she looked navigating the passages. They said their goodbyes and the green-eyed man felt comfortable in leaving her in the Manor in a way that he didn't previously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I borrowed the foods from the amazing world of molecular gastronomy. On my Facebook page I put up reference links and a video of the dessert.


	11. Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you my lovely Faye, for everything. Also, thank you Icicle, for working through all my comma mistakes. I confess, I'm terrible at commas. Then again, I'm terrible at them in my native language, so why should it be any different in my second language? I should progress with my Japanese. No commas.

Harry sat at the head of the table having breakfast and looked down at his wife. He had spent more time with her than ever before during their marriage. He had completely quit the Aurors and didn't miss it at all but was busier than ever. Instead of a regular job, he went around the Wizengamot members and courted them, just like Draco told him to. He had become a politician. It wasn't his chosen profession and he sincerely hoped he didn't have to do it all his life. Ginny was always by his side and he didn't even have to ask her. She enjoyed all the gatherings and dinners, which made her the perfect companion for his new job. Harry made sure that the men he meet saw him guide her at all times, asserting his authority. He didn't take pleasure in any of it one bit, but he was getting better at pretending he did. 

It was the end of November and on that day, they were scheduled to go Christmas shopping. The previous years they had not gone together. His wife was always at some remote location and only arrived home for Christmas Eve, laden with foreign gifts, so Harry bought his own. He was determined that the kids would not get any less though. 

An hour later, Harry was strolling down Diagon Alley with his wife on his arm. He wasn't all that sure what he was going to buy. Just like with most things, he liked to pick gifts out on the spot, no plan, just improvise. He would look in the windows and think about his children, thinking of whether they would like something from there. However, his wife had other ideas. She enthusiastically dragged him to the first shop she saw, which happened to be Quality Quidditch Supplies. She led him straight to the latest racing broom design and just stared at it. Harry got bored quickly. He still appreciated the broom, but he wasn't as excited about Quidditch as he used to be. He still went to games with his children, though James was the only one who enjoyed them. Albus took a book to read and Lily something to colour and some papers to draw on. Harry had considered leaving the two younger ones at home, but he wanted it to be a family outing and hoped that they would catch on as well. 

"Oh, Harry! I can't wait 'til the kids are old enough to get brooms," she enthused and Harry nodded in agreement. 

However, he didn't think it likely that Albus would want one. 

He tried to look around to see if he could buy a present from the shop while his wife got in a lively conversation with the proprietor over the Nimbus Apocalypse. Apparently, the broom got its name from the Muggle belief that the world was going to end that year. 

Harry found a toy Snitch and decided to get one for James as he often said that he wanted to follow in his parents' footsteps and become a Seeker just like them. He had completed his purchase, but Ginny was still engrossed in the conversation. He squared his shoulders and got ready to ascertain his authority as a proper husband. A month earlier, he would have just let her enjoy herself, but now he had to change. 

"Ginny, if you're not going to buy anything, we need to go." 

"But Harry!" she whined and he felt a bit better for dragging her away. He couldn't stand it when she used that tone of voice. 

"Do you want to buy something or not?" he repeated and could not be dismissed. 

"No," she admitted and let herself be dragged out. 

They walked along the Alley arm-in-arm. A chilly wind swept through the street and Ginny cuddled closer. Harry looked down at her face and could see that she was still a bit cross with him. She wasn't paying attention to him, as instead, she was eyeing the package in Harry's hand. 

"You got something." 

"Yes. A toy Snitch for James." 

"He'll love that!" she exclaimed. "You forgot to have it gift wrapped. Anyway, I know what I want for Christmas. That new broom. It's great!" 

"I like to wrap my own gifts. And you're not getting the broom." Inside Harry cheered himself. Sometimes being assertive was a good thing. 

"Harry! I want it!" 

She was whining once more and it only served to irritate her husband all the more. She acted as if she were one of the children and Harry was not amused by it. 

"If I got you the broom, you would ride it at home and the kids would want to go too. That would be dangerous for them. Besides, you have no need for a new broom. You hardly ever ride the one you have." He felt justified in his denial. 

"That's only because it's old. I got it when I was playing for the Harpies. Harry, I promise I won't take the kids up." She was trying to be persuasive but failing. 

"You know you can't promise that. I'll get you something else." He patted her hand on his arm and steered her towards Flourish and Blotts. 

They entered the bookshop together and a jolly Christmas tune was playing. Harry looked around and noticed that above the entrance instead of a chime they had a fir tree with a face that animated itself upon their arrival and sang Jingle Bells. The proprietor behind the counter greeted them with a smile on his face. 

"Mr and Mrs Potter! How good to see you! Albus run out of books again?" he asked. 

"Not yet, Mr Blotts, but I was sure that we could find something for him here for Christmas," Harry informed him. 

Ginny extracted herself from his arm and disappeared in the direction of the romance novels. The two men watched her go and Mr. Blotts returned behind his counter. 

"I have put away a couple of things for your young prodigy. I know how much he loves potions. We have a new book by Nocer Picard. I remember your son saying how much he enjoyed his last book." He pulled out a rather large volume. 

"Oh yes, I seem to recall the name myself. Though I can't see why." To Harry one Potions book was like the other. All dull and boring. 

"It's the details, Mr Potter. Mr Picard is very precise and always explains everything in great detail. He also likes to introduce Potions in a rather novel way. He actually spins a story around them. So his books are not just informative but exciting as well. They also need to be read in order." 

"It's actually a novel then?" 

"Yes, but it has more details and actual science in it. The stories are in fact detective stories where his main character, Eileen Prince, a brilliant private detective uses innovative methods in Potions to solve cases." 

"Eileen Prince?" Harry caught the name. "But that was Severus Snape's mother!" he exclaimed. 

"I know, it said so in the first book. The author wished to pay homage to the great war hero and Potions master, Severus Snape," Mr Blotts informed him. 

"Interesting." Harry supposed that in the Potions circles probably many people knew Snape and admired him. The man was brilliant; after all, he made the Wolfsbane Potion. 

As he was contemplating the book in front of him, staring at the woman on the cover, he heard Jingle Bells again. He turned around to see Draco Malfoy enter the shop. He had to school his features to hide the delight he felt upon seeing the man who was becoming his friend and ally in the recent months. 

"Well, if it isn't Potter," he sneered, though his eyes twinkled with more amusement than malice. 

"Malfoy. So you crawl out of your hole once in a while," Harry replied. 

"I could hardly call the grandeur of Malfoy Manor a 'hole', Potter. That describes your house better." 

"At least I have three children to fill it with." He actually knew that it was a rather sore spot, as during one of their conversations Draco mentioned that he wished he had more children. The blond did flinch a little. 

"Not all people want to breed a herd of little Weasleys." Draco stepped to the counter as he spotted the book lying there. "Nocer Picard? Isn't that rather above your intellect?" he asked Harry. 

"It may be, but my six-year-old adores him." 

"Oh, he uses the pictures for colouring?" 

"No, he actually reads them." 

Harry saw that the news surprised Draco. Albus was rather remarkable, and Harry knew he had a little genius on his hands. He sometimes worried that he could not cultivate said genius well enough -as while he wasn't stupid, he still used his intellect for practical things. Al, on the other hand, would probably become a great Potions master one day to rival the likes of Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore. It was quite fascinating how the boy got his name from the two men he was probably destined to suppress. 

"Fascinating," said Draco. "How the Weaselette and you could produce such a child should be studied. Are you sure he's yours?" 

"Quite." 

"I can assure you Albus is Harry's," came Ginny's voice as she stepped out from among the paperbacks. In her hand, she held a book with the title _Romance over the Cauldron_ and the cover depicted a blonde witch in the arms of a dark-haired wizard, both moving towards each other to stop just short of a kiss. 

Draco clearly sneered at her choice in literature and headed towards the back of the shop, clearly dismissing the couple. 

Ginny frowned at him and moved next to Harry to place her intended purchase on the counter. 

"Did you find something for Albus?" she asked. 

Harry just nodded and paid for the two books. After saying goodbye to Mr Blotts, who had clearly enjoyed witnessing a banter by the legendary rivals of Hogwarts, the pair left the shop. 

Back on the streets, the weather was getting worse. The last of the autumn leaves swirled around and Harry burrowed his face in his scarf. They hurried into Fairyland, one of the toy shops on Diagon Alley that opened after the war. 

The place was clearly designed with girls in mind and followed the fairies theme to the letter. Most of the things around them were pink. Pink walls with flowers blossoming on the paper, darker pink soft carpeting under their feet that they could enjoy once they took off their shoes at the door according to the policy. As always, little girls were running about and the shopkeepers looked on with amusement. They probably cast Unbreakable Charms every day, as most of their merchandise would have suffered in their absence. 

They parted at the door and Ginny headed to the clothes section in the back. They mostly sold costumes, but children often enjoyed dressing up in their everyday lives. Harry loved picking something out for his little girl and looked around in a loss as to what he should get Lily. He spotted a section above which said 'Dragons' in glittering letters. Lily had a fascination for dragons of late and he was sure to find something there. 

On the shelves many dragons stood. Some moved, some didn't as was indicated on their packaging and they ranged in size. The really large ones were on the ground though. One was about as big as Lily and Harry had a vision of that dragon taking up residence in her bed and her sleeping snuggled up to it. The thing was mostly green, with blue eyes and yellow stripes on its tail. He was sure he had found a great present and motioned for a shopkeeper. 

"Mr. Potter, how can I be of service?" the pretty young witch asked him. 

"I would like to buy this dragon, but I need it delivered to my home tomorrow morning," he explained. 

"Of course, Mr. Potter. Would you like anything else?" 

Harry contemplated it and just as he was about to say no, he noticed a colouring book on one of the dragon-shelves. He took it down and quickly paged through it. 

"Please add this to it as well." He gave the book to the witch, who nodded and headed towards the cashier. Harry followed her and looked around, searching for his wife. She was coming out of the clothes section with a fairy costume in her hand. 

"I finally found something for one of the kids," she said as they met at the counter. 

"What ages is that for?" he asked, eyeing the apparently too-small garment. 

"It's for 3-4." 

"Lily wears the ones for 4-5," Harry informed her with a frown. He would have expected her to know that. 

"Oh. Could you change this to a bigger size?" she asked, turning to one of the shopkeepers. 

"Certainly, Mrs. Potter. We'll send that along with the dragon and the book." 

"You got two things?" Ginny inquired from her husband. 

"It's just a colouring book, Ginny. I'll give it to her before Christmas so that we don't break our rule of two gifts each," Harry explained. 

She just nodded and they exited the shop. Outside, the clear signs of a large storm were gathering. The sky had darkened to almost night and the wind threatened to blow them away. At the first sign of thunder, Ginny almost jumped into his arms. 

"Let's go home," Harry proposed and Ginny just nodded. They both Apparated home. 

Harry was satisfied with the day's work as he managed to get something for all of his children. For him, only the extended family was left. His wife, on the other hand, had most of her shopping before her. 

* * *

Harry sat in the uncomfortable couch in his living room. He took a sip from his cup of mulled wine as he was looking at the large Christmas tree and got lost in the events of the past year. It was hard to believe that the next day was Christmas morning already. 

A year before, he was alone, and now his wife was sitting next to him, watching the fire. Before, Ginny arrived to their home just in the very early hours of the morning, in time for the children to wake up. They had not spent so much time together since Lily was born, and instead of warming to her, he secretly wished she would feel an unquenchable desire for a remote island already. Though he had to admit, she was useful when visiting the Wizengamot members. 

The month of December had passed quickly and was blissfully almost over. He had been very busy, but his efforts had paid off. The voting for his seats was scheduled for January 9th, which was ironically Snape's birthday, as Draco had pointed out. Once that was done, he could finally end the charade. He wondered how Ginny was going to react, since the break with Light Wizards also meant a break with her family. He found himself not particularly caring. 

His musings were interrupted by his wife when she got up and suggested a bit of fun in bed. He sighed and cast a last look at the tree to make sure that all the presents were under it, then reluctantly headed upstairs. 

When they were both exhausted, Ginny turned to him as was usual for their Christmas evening ritual. She had her own present for him. Harry eyed the small package and wondered what it was going to be. Before, she would usually have an exotic decorative piece for him, as if to say that she had thought of him while away. When he opened it, it was indeed a decorative thing, but in this case it happened to be a golden 'W' pin with what appeared to be gemstones covering it. It glittered in the candlelight and Harry had to force back the grimace that was threatening to break out over his face. It was a garish ornament and he bemoaned the fact that she would probably make him wear it all the time. He could just hear how Draco would ridicule it. However, he did what every husband would do to keep peace; he thanked her and assured her he loved it. 

She beamed at him but was trying to sneak a peak over Harry's shoulder, as if asking where her gift was. Harry took his wand and Summoned the package from the attic. It was also rather small but bigger than hers had been. She opened the obvious jewellery box with barely contained glee and gasped when she saw the content. 

"Oh my, Harry!" she exclaimed as she placed the box on the bed and took out the long, gold chain to examine the teardrop ruby at the end of it. "I love it! I'll wear it for the next ball we attend!" 

She quickly placed the necklace back and caressed it, her hand passing over the similarly shaped earrings as well. 

"Such beautiful things! Thank you!" With those words she placed the box on her nightstand and attacked Harry with kisses all over his body. 

Harry just wished that they could go to sleep already. After all, the children would wake them up early in the morning. 

* * *

The next morning, he was woken in the usual way, as he had every Christmas morning since James was four. Their bed was invaded by their excited children, all demanding that they get up and go down with them to open their presents. Harry loved these mornings as they reminded him that his children had a happy childhood. They quickly put their dressing gowns on and hurried downstairs. 

The children squealed at the sight of their gifts and dived straight in. Harry stood watching the ruckus with a wide grin. In these moments, he sometimes remembered the time when he was heading towards the Forbidden Forest, ready to die. He thought it was all over, and he would never get a taste of real happiness. How wrong he had been. He looked over to Ginny, who had made it all possible and wanted to thank her. However, he was stopped by the frown on her face, and then he recalled how she always grumbled about the wrapping papers beings thrown about the room. She was always so afraid that her expensive furniture would get damaged in the commotion. He was about to wrap his arms around her to make sure that she would not interrupt them, when Dinky appeared and gave them both a cup of hot chocolate. Harry smiled down gratefully at the little elf. 

The children were very happy with their presents and wanted to enjoy them straight away, but Harry told them that they needed to have breakfast first. They grudgingly settled down at the table and ate their fill. Harry looked around and thought of Hermione. It was her first Christmas without her children and she must have been devastated. He hoped that it was going to be her last. 

Even in Hermione's absence, their day progressed the way it usually did. After some playtime, which for Al was reading time, they all got dressed to visit their grandparents. All the Weasley children and grandchildren gathered for a Christmas lunch at the Burrow. After eating, the women helped clear away the remnants of the meal, and the children went out to play in the snow. That year they actually had a white Christmas. In some years the adults had to conjure snow. Harry joined in on the vigorous snowball fight and took special delight in dousing Ron with as much cold as possible. He felt he really needed to make him feel the chill. Once exhausted, he went inside to warm up with a cup of tea he found in the kitchen. 

Practically everyone was outside and as he sipped his hot drink, he observed the extended Weasley family. If everything went according to plan, this would be the last time his children got to play with most of their cousins. He was sad for them, but he hoped that in school they would still meet, or that the rift that his decision was going to cause would heal over time. He wondered if it was worth it. The people outside had been through so much with him over the years. They lived through a war together, shared their losses. His heart clenched at the memory of the dead, and for a moment, he doubted that he could actually go through with the plan. Then he remembered all that Draco had said about what the Light Families were doing, of Hermione, of all the reasons why he started on the path in the first place. Still, he knew that the Weasleys were his family, and they would leave a hole in his life that he doubted anyone could fill. He was going to lose his family again, but at least he would not be left alone. It still hurt, but Hermione's absence hurt as well. It should have hurt the Weasleys too, but it didn't appear to. They seemed to dismiss her, close their doors in front of her and not care anymore. That didn't feel right to him and he considered that perhaps to all those people she once called family she didn't matter as much as they let her to believe. Were they the same with him? Only time would tell. With a sigh, he let it all drift away from him in the wind and made peace with the situation. He was ready to face whatever came his way. 

The children could only be dragged into the house once night fell. Harry silently thanked whoever came up with Warming Charms; as without them, undoubtedly all of the kids would have gotten the cold. Even the promise of presents couldn't tear them away from their play. The bottom of the great Christmas tree in the living room was filled with packages. Everyone received a Weasley jumper, and they all quickly put them on to make the great Christmas family photo in front of the tree. Molly probably started to make them in January every year, since the family was so big with all the children, even though Charlie didn't have any, not even a wife, much to his mother's dismay, who never failed to bring it up at some point during the family gatherings. The dragon-keeper just shrugged and evaded the subject every time. The children also got a little something from their grandparents, but the adults didn't as by agreement. 

The exercise outside got everyone hungry and they soon had dinner. After that, the children resolved to play inside and the adults scattered about the house, cleaning up or just chatting about things. Harry sought Arthur out and sat with him to talk about the Great Vote, as he had started to think about it. 

"Are you sure they're going to give me power over my votes?" he asked anxiously. 

"Oh I'm quite sure, my son." Arthur patted his hand reassuringly. "You have nothing to worry about." 

"But do the members like me enough?" 

"They positively love you! Recently, all I keep hearing about it what a great man you've grown up to be. I'm very proud of you for deciding to go into politics. It'll make a great career for you." He beamed at the man in front of him. "Molly and I are also glad that we no longer have to be afraid of you getting hurt by a villain. We just wish Ron would take interest in a safer position as well." He sighed at that. 

"Maybe he will." Harry tried to set his father-in-law's mind at rest. However, he found that he didn't really care himself. The rift between him and Ron appeared to be final in his heart. 

"I'm glad that you and Ginny are spending more time together," Mr. Weasley began. "She had been travelling so much after Lily's birth, we were afraid that your marriage was in jeopardy." 

"I can assure you, that it was not the case. Ginny just wanted to see the world as she couldn't before and since my job kept me here, I volunteered to take care of the children while she was away." 

"Now, all my friends in the Wizengamot are taken by how good a politician's wife she is." Arthur appeared to wipe a proud tear from his eye. 

"Oh yes! She also enjoys it a lot." 

Arthur just nodded and then he was called away by Percy. Harry was glad that the conversation was over, as the subject of Ginny was an awkward one for him. However, he wasn't sure why exactly. 

After a few more hours spent in the Burrow, the children were ready to sleep, and the adults decided to break up the party. They all returned to their homes, except for Charlie, who would take one of the International Floos the next day.


	12. The Vote

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I thank my two betas for all their work. Faye, because I can ask her stuff about Britain that I may not know, and because she's my cheerleader. Plus she keeps talking about Drarry, which leads me to thinking about my fic, which leads me to writing more. She's like my muse. Icicle, I have to thank, for being my meticulous beta. She's still doing all the comma corrections, which is a feat in itself. I hope all her personal problems are handled now, and her uni work is going well.

On Boxing Day everyone in the Potter family was busy outside the home. The children all had play-dates, even Albus, who was not the most popular boy in his class. Ginny had lunch that would take all afternoon with some of the wives she met in the homes of the Wizengamot members. Harry, therefore, was free to visit Malfoy Manor once more. He could once again enjoy the walk up to the house, and he took great delight in the Malfoy gardens shrouded in white snow. Among the trees, he spotted a filled feeder for the deer. The warming charms did a great service to him once more as the sun was hiding behind a thick layer of clouds. To his amazement, he saw a white horse approaching from among the woods, with a rider clad in black sitting on top. It came at a trot, and as it neared him, he could see Lucius Malfoy on the steed. His long hair rose and fell behind him and he wore an uncharacteristic smile on his face. Harry hadn't talked to the elder Malfoy for a long time as he seemed to stay away whenever Harry visited. The horse stopped next to the dark-haired man and the blond got off the saddle. 

"Good day, Mr. Potter!" he said in a jovial tone and it took all of Harry's willpower not to gape at the man. He had never heard two pleasant words from him. 

"Good day to you as well, Mr. Malfoy," he greeted. 

"Your family is doing well, I hope." 

"Oh, eh, yes." It all felt rather surreal to Harry, and he even considered that he had been transported into another universe. Lucius Malfoy was making small talk and still smiling. It was rather unnerving. 

"I spotted you while enjoying a ride. Do you ride as well?" 

"Horses? No. I've only sat on the back of a Thestral once, if that counts." 

"It's not the same, but it must have been an interesting experience," Lucius said, while Harry tried to avoid remembering the circumstances of that ride. "It's a long way to the Manor. How about I take you there?" The older man offered. 

Harry looked up at the tall horse and the lone saddle on it. For a brief moment, he considered that Lucius would somehow cause him to fall and break his neck, but since they were no longer enemies, he doubted the man would resort to such a scheme. 

"All right." 

Lucius got back on his horse and held an arm down for the younger man. Harry wasn't sure how to mount a horse, so Lucius instructed him to put his foot into the stirrup and hoist himself behind the blond with his help. He placed his arm around the slim hips of Lucius Malfoy and held on as the horse went into a gallop. At first, Harry was scared of the speed and being jostled about, but he soon started to enjoy himself even though he got a face full of silky blond strands. 

In a matter of minutes, they reached the Manor and Harry grudgingly dismounted. He was surprised to find that he rather liked riding and considered that it may be something he would get into in the future. 

"Go on inside, Mr. Potter. I'm going to take Snowflake back to the stables," Lucius informed him. 

Harry did as he was told and entered the Manor. He didn't see anyone in the foyer and considered that he should have sent a message that he was coming, but in his haste he forgot. As he was wondering where to search for one of the inhabitants of the house, he heard steps approach from the left and he looked down the corridor. The small figure who made his way towards him was Scorpius Malfoy. He was glad to see the child as all their interactions had been pleasant, and the boy was always knowledgeable about the whereabouts of the members of his family. 

"Good morning, Mr. Potter," greeted the boy in a cordial manner. 

"Good morning to you as well, Scorpius, and a Merry Christmas." 

"I suppose. We don't celebrate Christmas here." 

"Oh, why not?" Harry was puzzled by this. Who didn't celebrate Christmas? 

"It's a Muggle holiday. We have Yule." 

"How do you celebrate Yule?" 

"Well, we stayed up all night on the solstice and had fun around the great bonfire in the garden." Scorpius began his account of the holiday. "When the sun finally came up the next day and the longest night was over, we cheered and thanked the gods. After that, we went into the house, got the presents from under the tree, and gave them to each other as symbols of how much we love each other. That's how wizards hold the holiday." The young Malfoy seemed very pleased with himself and Harry smiled at him in an attempt to disguise his puzzlement at the fact that he had never heard of such a thing. He supposed it was a dark wizard custom that he was going to have to follow in the future. Just as he was about to inquire of the whereabouts of the rest of the family, he heard the approach of the distinct steps of Draco. He was surprised for a moment by how easily he recognised them. 

"Scorpius, I hope you're not boring Mr. Potter," the blond man said to his son as he came to stop next to him. Harry was again struck by how much they looked alike. 

"No, Father." 

"You run along now. Tell Hermione that we are in my office," Draco instructed and walked away, expecting Harry to follow as always. 

"It was nice seeing you, Scorpius," he said, as a way of farewell, and then hurried to catch up with the older blond. 

"Goodbye, Mr. Potter," Scorpius called after him. 

Harry and Draco soon reached the familiar office and both took a seat on the couches surrounding the coffee table, facing each other. Almost immediately, a house-elf appeared with the tea set and poured them both a cup, then popped out of the room. Harry wondered if there was a sort of warning system that alerted the little creatures to someone entering that particular room. 

"Do you have news, or you were just bored?" 

Harry blushed a bit as what he was going to say wasn't so important as to warrant a visit, but he had no one else to visit on his free day. Besides, he found that he enjoyed Draco's company. 

"Well, just that Arthur said the vote should go off without a hitch." 

"That is good to hear, but you could have just sent a letter." 

"I'm sorry. I'll be going then." He moved to get up, but the other man was quickly by his side and held his wrist gently. Harry didn't even see him round the table, but there he was, sitting next to him, their legs touching. Draco was so close. 

"I'm not sending you away, Harry." Their eyes met and Harry could see something in the grey orbs that he couldn't name. 

As they sat there, Harry could feel their connection. These were the eyes that he had looked into so many times, looking for a plot, a ploy, his own demise. He knew the man before him so well, but then again, so little. The Draco he had come to learn about in the past months was not the boy from school. He wondered if that boy ever truly existed, or his own prejudices encouraged by Ron, had clouded his vision. Then again, they had both changed. They grew up, became fathers. The world changed too. Harry smiled at Draco and the other man let go of his wrist. The touch was immediately missed. Yes, their relationship was not only about scheming. He had come to see his friend. 

"Yesterday, I thought of how my life and also that of my children was going to change. The only relatives they have are among the Weasleys." He decided to talk about what concerned him the most and not the tingling on his wrist, or the feeling that their legs still touching gave him. 

"True. However, once you get to know the dark families I'm sure you'll find people who will get close to you. It won't be the same, though. Is it too much to sacrifice?" Draco looked at him with an expression that allowed him to back out from all of it. Harry sighed and shook his head. 

"No. I have set myself on this path, and I'm going to walk down on it. I have made peace with my decision. What the light families are doing is just not right." 

"We will stand together, Harry. Frankly, I can't wait to see their eyes when you take your place next to me in the Wizengamot. I'll save you a seat." He smirked. 

Harry laughed a little at the sight of that expression. That was when Hermione entered the room, greeted Harry and sat down opposite him in Draco's old place. 

"So, what did I miss?" she inquired as she looked at the two boys in front of her. Harry found himself blushing, but he didn't know why. 

"Arthur thinks I'm going to win." 

"Oh... that's good." She observed them with a suspicious twinkle in her eyes. 

They went on to discuss many things that day, but mostly they just enjoyed each other's company. Harry barely got home before the others. 

* * *

The ninth of January couldn't roll around fast enough for Harry. He didn't have a spare minute to sneak away to see his friends and Ginny was being especially demanding. Harry hoped that his wife got the urge to travel again soon. Then he chided himself for thinking like that. Ginny was his wife, but things weren't the same as they had been before she decided to take on the world. However, deep down, he knew that he wasn't ready to face just what that meant, and therefore, refused to go there in his thoughts. Thus, his days seemed to consist of at least 36 hours, and he was getting very restless. 

On the morning of the ‘Great Vote' as he had taken to thinking of it, he was feeling very nervous. Just a few more hours and his life would change forever. As he stood before the mirror shaving with his wand, he was infinitely grateful for the wizard who had invented that spell. His hands were shaking so badly that he would have killed himself with anything sharp. He finished quickly and let Ginny have the bathroom. 

In his room, he again faced the dilemma of what to wear. He had taken the matter under consideration days before. It was very uncharacteristic of him, but he was going to stand beside Draco and all the impeccably dressed Dark families, so he didn't want to look like the poor orphan among them. That brought unpleasant memories back of the time when he was indeed the poor orphan. He selected forest green robes that complemented his eyes. He thought Draco would appreciate that since it was his house colour. He was already dressed by the time Ginny exited the bathroom in a cloud of expensive perfume that always made him cough. 

He waited for his wife in the sitting room near the Floo. They had already had breakfast, or at least everyone else did and he just munched on plain toast and drank a bit of tea. He wished everything was over already. He just couldn't think about what was going to happen after the Vote anymore. When Ginny finally arrived in one of her more expensive robes, he leapt out of his seat and tossed powder into the fire before she could say a word. 

Once they arrived to the Ministry, he hurried past the fountain memorial and upon seeing that all the lifts were in motion; he nervously pushed the button to go down. Ginny was saying something beside him, but he took no notice of her. He leapt into the lift and rolled his eyes as his wife took a more sedate pace to join him. Of course, things were made worse for him when the lift refused to take him straight to his destination and stopped along the way for other passengers. Finally, they reached the level of the Wizengamot and he stood in front of the great doors leading to the large chamber where they all sat. 

Ron was already there in his Auror robes as he just popped down from work. They had been scheduled to arrive just at the time when the vote was taking place. The chamber was closed for the event, but Harry wouldn't have seen much anyway, since they cast their votes on such occasions on secret ballots. He was desperately trying not to pace. Then, the doors were opening, and people were walking out presumably to have a break, and there was Arthur, smiling. He stood before Harry, patted his back and said, "Congratulations, Harry. You are now officially a member of the Wizengamot and the holder of two votes." 

Harry shook the man's hand grinning, feeling relieved. In spite of all the assurances that he got, he still couldn't help but feel like he was not going to get them. How wrong he had been. 

"Thank you for all your help, Arthur." He sincerely thanked the man, but couldn't help thinking that this was the last time they were going to have a pleasant exchange. 

After fifteen minutes of waiting, people were heading back to their seats in the Wizengamot. The chamber was no longer sealed and Ginny took a place along with Ron in the audience. They thought they were going to be the only ones when three lifts stopped and out poured a multitude of reporters. They all gathered around Harry, asking questions about his new position. Arthur stood in front of his son-in-law and halted them. They were slightly disappointed, but headed towards the open doors, clearly intent on observing the Chosen One's first day at his new job. That made Harry a bit more nervous as he didn't expect his choice to go public so quickly. He looked around and spotted Draco over Arthur's shoulder - who was probably saying something encouraging -, and found comfort in the smiling grey eyes. He was the last to walk in finally, and after taking a deep breath, he took the plunge. 

He knew what he had to do. Draco had instructed him that when a new member was introduced, he would stand in the middle of the great circular hall and after some words he would need to take a seat. As he waited, he saw both Draco and Arthur gazing at him with an empty seat beside them. It struck him how he still had a choice, which wasn't really a choice at all. 

"Members of the Wizengamot," began the Chief Warlock, "today we have the rare and pleasurable task of welcoming a new member amongst us. Harry Potter will be taking over the Potter and the Black votes from Arthur Weasley, who had been safeguarding them for him. Harry Potter," he looked straight at the young man, "please repeat the oath after me." 

Harry knew that the oath was coming. He put his right hand over his heart and his left slightly in the air in preparation. He repeated every word as it was spoken. 

_"I, Harry Potter, solemnly swear that as a member of the Wizengamot I will represent the Wizarding World of Britain faithfully and honourably. I will look out for the welfare of all its citizens; may they be human or creature, all part of the magical world. I will make no law respecting one over the other. I will always vote guided by my own conscience. I will not be swayed by bribes or promises. I will respect my fellow members. I will not reveal any of the Wizengamot's secrets. To all this, I do swear, may my magic leave me if I betray this oath."_

After he finished reciting the oath, the Scribe stepped behind him and helped him take off his green outer robe to reveal a black shirt and black trousers underneath. Then he helped Harry put on the official plum coloured robes of his new station. The Chief Warlock left his seat to stand before him and pinned the silver W onto his breast. 

"From now on, Mr. Potter, you are officially a member of the Wizengamot," he declared. 

That over, Harry knew it was time to sit down. First, he looked at Arthur, who patted the empty space next to him. Then he turned his head to Draco, who just looked at him, face blank. He was still leaving an opening for him after everything they had discussed. Harry was encouraged by that. He cast a last glance towards Arthur Weasley and said goodbye in his head. Then to the astonishment of everyone, he turned right, towards the Dark families and walked straight to Draco, sitting down beside him. The Head Mugwump seemed like he was going to comment, maybe tell him that he was on the wrong side, but the determination in Harry's eyes stopped him. 

"Yes, well, … let's move onto the next agenda then," he began. 

Harry couldn't hear what he was saying for a few moments as his heart was thumping too loudly in his chest, drowning out all sounds. Then he felt a hand take his and looked down to see pale fingers wrapped around his darker ones. He turned his head to look at Draco, who was smiling. No, that was an understatement. Positively grinning from ear to ear. Harry couldn't help but grin back and for the first time that day, he was calm. He knew that with the other man beside him, he could face the whole Weasley clan with the kind of determination that he needed. 

That strength did help him just two hours later when they broke for lunch. Harry avoided looking at Arthur and towards the audience. However, when they had to leave the chamber he could no longer avoid them, nor the press. There was a rule against reporters jumping on him in the hall, but outside they could do as they wished. He walked out the great doors with Draco, who didn't leave his side even as he was bombarded with questions. 

"Please, just one at a time!" the blond took command of the crowd. " _Daily Prophet_ first." He gestured to the correct person. 

"Harry, does this mean that now you have become a Dark Wizard?" 

Harry wasn't happy about being addressed so familiarly by a complete stranger, but he supposed most people felt like they knew him. 

"Yes. I have studied the positions of both sides on key issues and discovered that I agreed with the viewpoint of the Dark families. Therefore, I decided to join them." He gave the answer that they had discussed in preparation. They didn't expect to have to give them so soon, but they didn't rule the possibility out. 

"Alicia Morag, Witches' Weekly. How did your wife's family handle the news of you changing sides?" asked a pretty witch that Harry recognised as she regularly covered him for the WW. 

"I don't know yet," was his sincere reply and he couldn't help but try to seek out some red heads among the crowd. He spotted the three of them grouped together in one corner, probably discussing what went down. 

"All right, I'm sure you all have enough to write your articles with. We only have an hour for lunch and I'm sure Harry is starving, so please be on your way," Draco instructed them, apparently appointing himself as Harry's media liaison. 

They were both relieved to see them do as instructed, but as they cleared out the Weasley family became visible behind them. Harry thought Draco would leave him at that point, but instead they walked towards them together. 

Facing those three redheads, Harry didn't know what to say. Arthur looked disappointed. Ron's face was scarlet, clearly indicating barely suppressed rage that Harry just knew was going to come out in a tirade any moment and Ginny looked close to tears. Her expression disturbed him the most. Here was the woman he married, the one he thought was the love of his life and he made her cry. 

"Why?" Arthur asked after what seemed like ages just staring at each other. 

"The Light is wrong. I … I don't see things the way you do." Harry bit his lip. They hadn't prepared anything for this scene. They knew it was coming, but it wasn't something that they could prepare for. "Arthur, I know that you and the Light see things in a certain way. Women, family, where the wizarding world is headed, but I don't. I think like the Dark does. I swore to listen to my consciousness, to represent all the people in our world equally, but I don't think the Light does. For years, I had been blind, not seeing the subtle undertones of your way of life. When Hermione left, it was all made so apparent … even I couldn't close my eyes to it. I just had to do something. The way you treat women is not right. Many of your ideals are not right. I'm going to change it to the way it should be. All equal." Harry stopped his rant as he ran out of steam. 

"With Malfoy?" Ron spat out. 

"Yes." That was all Harry could say to that. 

Ron reached towards his wand, but Draco's hand gripping his arm halted him and the menacing look he accompanied with it took Ron's mind off it completely. 

"Ron, let's go to lunch," Arthur instructed his son and with a sad look, steered him away from potentially losing his job and getting locked up. 

Ginny, however, just stood there. 

"How could you?" she finally spoke up and slapped her husband across the cheek. "That's my family and you just separated us from them! I always knew you were useless when it came to politics, but this is your stupidest idea so far! All you would have had to do was to vote like my father and go along with everything and we would have had a great place in society! I'm not staying in this country anymore I'm going back to Thailand!" With those words, she turned on her heel and marched off towards the lifts. Harry and Draco just watched her as she disappeared inside one. 

"Well, I'm glad that's over," Draco spoke up and his calm tone startled Harry. He was still dazed from the slap and being told off by his wife. "Oh, come on Harry. I know this great restaurant nearby. We can finally have lunch together in public." The blond took his arm and led him towards the lifts. They were the only ones left on the corridor and their heels echoed in the empty space. 

Harry could only think about three things. One was that he was finally through it and how relieved that made him feel. Two, his wife was leaving the country and he could go back to it just being him and the kids. Three, Draco was still gently clutching his arm and that made him feel warm and safe, two things it shouldn't have.


	13. Starting to Build

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone is missing Teddy, then I'll let you in on a bit of an embarrassing secret. I totally forgot about him. I was reading another Drarry fic the other day, that was when I realised I forgot Teddy Lupin. Don't worry, I thought of a way to put him in. Chapter 16 will be good for that.
> 
>  
> 
> As always, I thank my two betas for all their work. Faye, because she bares my moaning about my insecurities and keeps telling me that my chapters are good. Icicle, because she ruthlessly edits my mistakes and lets me know when something is weird. I need someone to tell me when I could improve.

It had been some days since Harry had become a Dark Wizard. The Weasleys had not spoken to him since, which Harry had expected, but it still hurt. He wanted to pretend that it wasn't so, but in the evenings he would look at old photo albums and reminisce. The sweetest memories were the ones not found among the moving photographs - the first time he entered the Burrow, the first time he felt home, there were no pictures taken then. That first morning sitting down at a family table that actually welcomed him - was it even real? Could they truly discard him so easily? He just couldn't believe it. He hoped that some day they would look past his alliances and take him back. Draco had promised him that he would not be alone, but in the evening, in his sitting room with the kids upstairs in bed, he felt abandoned. 

He set the Weasley album aside and his gaze fell on the white wedding scrapbook that Ginny had made. He opened it and the sights and sounds from that day rushed to him. There was a white ribbon from her hair, a napkin from their table and many pictures. He had been so happy that day. They were starting their lives together. It was the beginning of his true life, like The War had never happened. How wrong he had been. For him, the fight was just starting. Then there was Ginny. She had just packed up and left. She had hardly said two words after leaving the Ministry. Harry had to confess that he didn't miss her. What he missed was the promise of his wedding day. They were supposed to walk down the road of life together, side by side as allies. The woman who was beside him was not the one he wanted to spend his life with that day. Or perhaps she was and he had changed? He couldn't decide. 

He forced himself to put away the albums and try to get some sleep. He slowly ascended the stairs up to his room and lay down in his great, lonely bed. He had been restless since the vote and hardly slept. The following day he would take the kids to Malfoy Manor for the first time. While they were supposed to play with Scorpius, the new Slythendor trio, as Draco called themselves the other day, would discuss the new family law they wanted to put through. Draco said that after they had a specific text they could bring in some influential people from among the Dark Families and present their ideas to them. 

He had to catch some sleep, it was already 2am. 

* * *

6am saw Harry out of his bed already. He had tossed and turned through most of the night. The changes to his life were weighing heavily on him and he suspected he couldn't go on too much longer like that. He tried to read, but his mind couldn't be occupied by the struggle of Katniss. The book was supposed to be a big hit in the Muggle world, but he just couldn't pay attention to it. 

He woke the kids up at 8am and they had breakfast together. All three children were soon dressed in some of their nicest clothes as Harry didn't want them to feel frumpy next to the Malfoys. They Flooed straight to a welcoming chamber as they no longer had anything to hide. Once they emerged from the flames, they were greeted by the whole Malfoy family. Well, except for Astoria, who carefully seemed to avoid everyone else. Hermione was also waiting for them. The kids gleefully attacked their Aunt Hermione and she hugged them to herself with a huge grin on her face. Harry was a bit afraid that the Malfoys would be annoyed by the breach of protocol, but as he looked at them, they were all smiles. 

"Children, let your aunt go for a bit, I want to introduce you to the Malfoys," Harry spoke up once he thought they had crowded their aunt enough. 

They let go and stood next to their father, ready to be introduced. 

"Kids, this is the Malfoy family." He walked to Lucius as he was the eldest. "This is Lucius Malfoy." The tall man leaned down and kissed Lily's hand, who giggled at the gesture. Then he shook hands with the boys, exchanging introductions. 

After that, they moved onto the woman Harry hadn't seen much of during his visits. He supposed he should have sought her out as she had been the woman to save his life. 

"This is Narcissa Malfoy. She saved my life during the war." 

"Oh, Mr. Potter, I had my own reasons for doing that. Thank you all the same though," she said, and shook hands with the children. 

"This is Draco Malfoy. We were in the same year at Hogwarts. For the longest time, I thought we would always be enemies, but now here we are." Harry smiled at that and the blond smiled back. He also greeted them as his father had. 

"Finally, this is Scorpius Malfoy. He is looking forward to playing with you all," he said finally, as he reached the end of the line. 

"Hello," Scorpius greeted with delight in his eyes. "It's too cold to be outside, but grandpa said we could be in the pool room." 

"Pool room?" Albus perked up at the news. He didn't like most sports, but the few times they had vacationed at a beach, he had enjoyed spending time in the water. 

"But we didn't bring any swimming trunks!" James moaned. 

"That's okay, we have swimming costumes in all sizes for guests. For girls too," Scorpius revealed, much to the delight of the threesome standing before him. 

"Still, playing in the pool is not without dangers," Harry warned. He was quite stunned by the proposal as he had not known there was a pool. He supposed in such a big home it would be matter-of-fact. 

"We'll be keeping a close eye on them, Harry, rest assured," Narcissa informed him. 

"Yes, I'm sure nothing bad will happen," Lucius joined his wife. "We'll all have a great time." 

Harry was amazed that the two older Malfoys would be looking after the children. They were not the typical grandparents. However, he knew that he could trust them, so he just nodded and off they all went, presumably towards the pool room. 

"So then, shall we go to my office to discuss plans?" Draco asked. 

"Yes, let's go," the two Gryffindors agreed. 

* * *

The discussion took up the whole morning and afterwards they all had lunch together in a great dining room. The atmosphere was relaxed and the children talked excitedly about all the fun they had. The plan for the afternoon was a small nap for the children in Scorpius' room, while the adults would also retire for a bit. Harry was glad to see that Albus and Scorpius were becoming great friends. James was sometimes a bit miffed as the two other boys would rather talk potions and their favourite author, Nocer Picard. Lucius noticed this and started a conversation about the history of Quidditch with the older boy. Harry was also fascinated by some of the stories about the world of Quidditch in the past 50 years that the eldest Malfoy could tell. 

The food was wonderful as well. A light winter salad from greenhouse vegetables for starters. Draco revealed that they actually had several greenhouses further out on their land for producing food all around the year. The Manor was almost completely self-sustaining with gardens and livestock. The wine they were drinking was from the Malfoy wineries, but those were in Bordeaux, France. They were even sold under the label ‘Malfoy Apothecaries' as red wine had very good healing properties. 

Their entrée was roast beef with equally roasted vegetables in a red wine reduction. Harry assumed the sauce was made from Malfoy wine as well. Finally, for afters, they had poached fruits with vanilla cream. Everyone was completely full and ready to find a nice bed for a few hours after eating the hearty meal. 

Harry headed to the flower greenhouse after turning down the suggestion that he lie down in one of the guest bedrooms. He loved the smell of flowers there and hoped that they would help him in resting his eyes on a bench. They looked hard, but all had cushioning charms on them to make them more comfortable. Harry lay down on a long one where he could stretch his legs out and there was some more room left over his head even. However, he could still not rest. His mind was as on edge as it had been all night. 

He heard footsteps and turned to see Draco walking towards him. He sat down next to his head and put a hand on his shoulder as Harry made to get up. 

"Rest, Harry. You have dark circles under your eyes. Not sleeping well?" he inquired. 

"More like none at all." 

"Too much on your mind?" His tone was soft and open, prompting Harry to be frank with his friend. 

"Yes." 

"Harry," Draco began and ran a hand through Harry's thick hair. "I know that the loss of the Weasleys is hard on you. However, now you have me and you will always have me. I suspect we'll have our differences, but I will never abandon you. Remember, on the train, when I asked you to be my friend?" 

Harry nodded. He allowed his eyes to close since Draco playing with his hair felt really good. 

"I wanted that so much. I always did. Now that I have you where I want you, I'm going to make sure that you never think about me as your enemy again." 

"Why? Why did you want to be my friend so badly? Because I was famous?" He opened his eyes to stare straight into the blond's grey orbs. 

"Oh, so that's what you thought? No. I was famous myself. After all, I'm a Malfoy. I was fascinated by you, Harry. You destroyed the Dark Lord as a baby. Father said you had to be a wizard with great potential. I wanted to be near that. However, I had some other reasons as well, but those are a bit too personal," he revealed. 

Harry decided not to push for more details and just accepted what he was told. He closed his eyes once more. 

"Talk to me. It can't be just the Weasleys that's keeping you up at night." 

"Ginny left." 

"You miss her?" 

"No," Harry admitted. 

"Oh, I see. That is a problem I suppose. What do you want to do?" 

"I just don't know." 

"You married her because you loved her." It wasn't a question. 

"Yes," Harry still answered. 

"Now?" 

"I don't know." 

"You have to figure it out." 

"You don't love _your_ wife," Harry pointed out. 

"I didn't expect to. Harry, you know I'm gay. I never expected to love her and it's fine." 

"Would you divorce her and marry a man if you fell in love with him?" he was curious. 

"Maybe. It would mean paying Astoria off. I would have to love the man a lot," Draco said and his voice was more emotional than before. Harry supposed the blond never expected such a thing to happen, he was probably enjoying sleeping around too much. 

"So what should I do about Ginny?" 

"I can't decide that for you. You have two options. Either try to make it work, or let her go." 

"You're right." 

"I know." 

"Can't face it now though." 

"You don't have to, Harry. Take your time. Whatever you decide, you can rely on me to support you." 

"Thank you, Draco." 

"You're welcome, Harry," he said, still patting the thick unruly mane Harry called hair. 

When Harry woke up, night had already fallen. Draco was sitting beside him, reading a book, his right hand still on the dark head of his friend. Harry hadn't slept so deeply in many days. He still got up and went in search of his children, with Draco silently directing him, as it was obviously time for his guests to depart. 

The children were located in Scorpius' rooms, as he had a whole suite for himself. Harry had never been inside and when he entered the playroom, he thought that it was exactly the kind of room he had dreamt about in his cupboard under the stairs. All sorts of toys were located on shelves around the room from toy brooms to building blocks. Among them were also so many books; it was a miniature library. The room had a swing in the middle, on which Lily was swaying back and forth, carefully pushed by Narcissa. The woman had a smile of delight on her face. James was on a trampoline. He was trying to jump as high as he could go, but safety charms prevented him from reaching great heights and also from falling off of it. Scorpius and Albus were thick as thieves on a rug, Nocer Picard books around them, clearly in an argument over something in one of them. Hermione was also with them, and she was pointing out a passage, trying to explain to the others something. Lucius sat in a rocking chair at the back, his full attention on James. 

Harry hated to break up their fun, but it was almost tea time and they really needed to get back home. James spotted him first and got off the trampoline. Narcissa also stopped the swing and Lucius rose from his seat. Harry stepped to the threesome in heavy discussion and told the boys to say their goodbyes. The Potter family was sad to leave Malfoy Manor, but they all Floed home eventually. 

* * *

Some weeks later, the Wizengamot was in session. Harry was a bit nervous again, sitting in his place, Draco beside him. It was the day that all their planning, all their hard labour would finally come into fruition. He had put on the plum robes in the first place for this very purpose. 

They had worked hard for a month. They wrote a bill that would change the family law in their world. Of course, first they had to map out just what was missing in their legislation. Harry was quite shocked to discover that women had no right to individual property in a marriage. They could make contracts before a marriage as to what they should be getting once it ended, but it could never be more than 10% of the husband's overall wealth. In the absence of a contract, they would be getting nothing. Once they entered a marriage, everything they owned became the property of their husband. Except for one thing, in case they had children from another man. Of course, Harry knew from the start what laws there were regarding the children who _were_ fathered by the husband. 

There were many more points. Wives had very little rights to start with. There were no laws against physical or psychological abuse. It was all very archaic. Draco explained that there used to be much more legislation for women, but since the Light Families had taken over, they were deemed unnecessary and against the integrity of the family, so they were erased. With Hermione's help, they took a look at how Muggles had formulated their protection laws and took those as an example. Harry noticed that child protection laws were also lacking and they made it the subject of their next project. 

Throughout the initial planning phase Harry had arrived to the realisation that this wasn't just about Hermione. In fact, it wasn't just about her divorce for Hermione either. It was about every woman. As much as he didn't like to think about it, some day it was going to be about his daughter, Lily as well. She may end up in a marriage one day that she would not like to stay in and have to make the kind of decision Hermione was faced with. It was like what happened in the Muggle world and what was still needed to happen in some countries. They were doing something really important. They were giving women what they were entitled to, and that was equal rights under the eyes of the law. 

Once they were done with the first stage, Draco and Harry gathered support for their bill. Harry groaned at the thought of courting wizards again for votes, but thanks to Draco he mostly just had to stand by and nod a lot. He also found that most of the Dark Families actually welcomed their idea and took little convincing. That was why in the month of February, they were already sitting in the Wizengamot, ready to vote on their joint proposal. 

"Agenda number thirteen," the scribe read out. "Mr Malfoy's and Mr Potter's proposal for reforming Family law in the Wizarding world. This mainly includes rights of the wife in a marriage and the allocation of children upon the occasion of a divorce." 

"I hope you have all read through the extensive documentation that you got yesterday in preparation for the vote." The Chief Warlock glared at the members from above his spectacles. "Now, please raise your wands if you are for the new legislation and keep them in your pockets if you are against." 

Every wand on the side of the Dark went up. Harry was grinning as he saw that. He knew that it would go through. He hoped that perhaps some wands on the Light side would also make an appearance, but all he got was glares from the other side. The scribe counted the wands, taking Harry’s into account twice. Then the man handed the paper over to the Chief Warlock. 

"With a majority of one, the law passes. Congratulations to Mr Potter on putting his first proposal through," said the Chief and the Dark side clapped. 

Harry felt very proud that day and looking up to the audience, he could see Hermione's smiling face. They could finally go on with the divorce. However, this had not only been about her. This was for all the women in the Wizarding world. There must have been more who felt trapped in marriages they couldn't leave, because they had children and could not leave them behind. Arranged marriages like Draco's with far less generous contracts and far more loving mothers could be broken with the new laws. He felt that they had achieved something that would impact so many lives. They had done it together. 

It felt better than ending the war. That victory was dampened by the many people lost not only in the final battle but in the whole war. This time only he had lost. He had lost a family he thought he would always have. However, it had been worth it. The lives he just saved or made better were worth the sacrifice he had made. The benefits far outweighed the cost. And he wasn't done yet. He still had some child protection laws to write. He felt that he had found his real calling in bettering the lives of people through laws. He felt that he had arrived to the place where he was meant to be.


	14. Taking a Trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now this folks, is a big one. You have all been waiting for it. :D Harry does a bit of traveling and I have posted pictures on my Facebook page that I used as reference. I'm also posting a link to the hotel I mentioned. It's a real place, I did a lot of research to be accurate, so please check it out.  
> Faye really loved this chapter, though she liked the next one more. Icicle, my harshest critic. Again, those blasted comas!

The ballroom in Malfoy Manor was full of Dark Wizards. It wasn't anything new to the residents of the house, but Harry felt rather uncomfortable in his dark green robes. He felt like the lone Gryffindor in a sea of Slytherins. They were all celebrating the passing of the bill. It had been a long time since they managed to make a law. Many went to chat with Harry and congratulate him. He blushed under the attention and ran a shaky hand through his hair. To gain some courage and not look like the complete novice that he was, he often grabbed a glass of champagne from the passing trays. The waiters were surprisingly human, surprisingly enough, something he wondered about. 

"Having fun, Harry?" Hermione stepped next to him. He jumped at the sound of her voice so near her. 

"Yes. You know how much I love large parties," Harry said sarcastically. 

The witch just smiled at him and took another sip from her flute. Harry drained his and exchanged the empty glass for a full one. 

"Human waiters," he remarked. 

"Yes. It would be highly inconvenient to take glasses from trays that are scurrying about your ankles." 

Harry was startled at her remark. He would have expected her to say something along the lines of how the house-elves could take a break. 

Hermione noticed his expression and smirked. 

"I'm learning. These past months I have had the opportunity to see the world through _their_ eyes." She motioned to the crowd around them. "They look after themselves and their families first. It's different, but I realised that while most of them are Slytherins, they are not bad people. Unlike their reputation." 

"I realised that too. Did you talk to your solicitor?" 

"Yes. He's conversing with Draco now. He is going to start working based on the new law tomorrow. Now we can proceed to the divorce court. He's very hopeful that I'll get Rose and Hugo and even some money. Lucius said that I can bring them here and live in the Manor until I get myself sorted." Hermione sighed. 

"It's not going to be easy to start all over again." 

"No. I'm going to train to become a healer," Hermione said with a smile. "It'll take some time and I'll have to rely on the Malfoys for a bit longer, but they make me feel at home. At first I thought I was imposing, but they seem to enjoy having more people in the house." 

"It is a large place," Harry admitted. 

"There used to be a lot more Malfoys. They have a tapestry room just like the Blacks but in a better condition. I studied it a bit and had Lucius tell me about the family history. He doesn't have a lot to do, so we talk sometimes. It's strange how many mutual interests we have." Her voice trailed off and Harry wondered about how strange that statement would have sounded a year before. "He's great at story-telling. He explained that there were times when 20 or even more people would live in the Manor. I think he sometimes wishes the family were that big again." 

"He's getting his wish." Harry downed another glass. 

"Aren't you having a bit too much?" 

"I'm fine. The kids are sleeping here anyways ... way. I'd better sit down a bit." Harry swayed towards an exit. 

"Do you need help, Harry?" 

"No, I'll be fine." 

He cast a couple of strong Warming Charms on himself and went outside in his robes as he was. He thought that perhaps a bit of fresh air would help clear his head of the alcohol. He had drunk a bit too much champagne. 

He found himself in a sculptured garden lit by strategically placed torches. There were various paths leading around rose bushes and other flower beds that were empty at that time of the year. In the centre stood a large fountain, warm water cascading down in a cloud of steam. Stone benches surrounded it, and Harry decided to take a seat. However, as he approached, he noticed a lone figure already occupying one of the benches. His white blond hair gleamed in the faint torchlight and Harry recognised him as Draco. 

"Come, sit down Harry!" the other man motioned for him to join him and Harry took him up on his offer. "Had a bit too much? Me too," Draco said as Harry nodded. 

"Big day." 

"Yes, big day." 

"Thanks for having the children over." 

"Don't be silly. Where would you put them? A couple of other families are staying here too. Tomorrow it'll be like one big family picnic. It'll be fun, you'll see." 

"Ginny's in Thailand." 

"I know. Have you come to a decision yet?" 

"Yes. Today. As I was standing there, looking at the couples. I'm going to go to Thailand, spend some time with my wife. A second honeymoon. Try to fix things. To find the woman I married. She's my wife, dammit!" Harry swore uncharacteristically. It startled Draco. 

"That she is." 

"Can the children stay here while I'm away?" 

"Sure. We love having them." 

"I can hear it in your voice that you don't like my plan. What do you think I should do?" 

" _Your_ marriage." Draco evaded the answer. 

"I know. I want your opinion," Harry raised his voice, the alcohol boosting his Gryffindor brashness. 

"Fine. I think you should divorce her. I never knew why you married her in the first place. She's a groupie. She married Harry Potter, war hero, boy-who-bloody-lived, celebrity. Not _you_. Not Harry, the man who is smart, sometimes shy, would walk through fire for his friends and for the right thing. Not the green-eyed boy with messy hair and scruffy trainers." Draco was equally made bolder by the alcohol. 

"I don't have scruffy trainers." 

"You did at Madam Malkin's. You had clothes that were too big for you and old, awful glasses, hair that hadn't been cut properly ever." He paused for a moment, looking pensive. "I'll never forget that day." 

Harry got the feeling Draco was going to say something else, but he left it at that. 

"I remember you well, too.... I'd better go and sleep this off." Harry got up, wondering which way his room was. 

"Ary!" Draco called and a young female elf appeared. "Lead Mr Potter to his room, please," he commanded. 

Harry nodded his thanks, the movement rattling his head enough to produce a bout of dizziness. As he gathered himself and started to walk away, he could feel grey eyes following him. 

* * *

The International Floo was a difficult ride. It wasn't exactly like a regular Flo, but rather like the carts at Gringotts. Harry had to sit in a seat-like contraption and have a spell cast on him that would guide him to his chosen destination. It started from an office that was situated on a side street off of Diagon Alley. Harry seriously loathed that mode of transportation and would have rather flown. However, the thought of sitting on a plane for about seventeen hours put him off. 

He arrived to the Floo office in Patong, Thailand. The room where his seat jumped out of the Floo, after about half an hour of dizzying ride, was hot but not very humid. Coming from the cold winter it was a shock to his system, even though he had prepared by dressing in tropical clothing. He just had a loose shirt, shorts, and sandals on. His luggage was in his pocket, the big trunk shrunk down as much as he could manage. 

When the arms of the chair opened, he fell forwards, his head still swimming from the combination of the trip and temperature change. He sprawled out on a light-green tiled floor and lost all of his remaining breakfast. At that moment, he sincerely wished he hadn't eaten those eggs. Just as he was done, someone Vanished his puddle with an amused chuckle. He looked up from his position on the floor to find a short, middle-aged, and dark-skinned Thai wizard standing near him with a big grin. Harry frowned and slowly gathered himself up. He supposed it was a regular occurrence that guests arrived in such a state. 

Once he was vertical again, he extended a hand towards his welcoming committee and introduced himself. The man took his hand and gave his name as Suchart Samarn. 

"I'm looking for the Banthai Beach Resort & Spa," Harry read out from a piece of paper that he fished out of his pocket. 

"Not far, Mr Potter, not far. Go down on street right one corner, go down street on left, walk and there hotel," Mr Samarn explained in heavily accented but somewhat understandable English. 

"Thank you," Harry said, and left, hearing 'phohb gaan my khraap' called out behind him. He assumed it was Thai for 'goodbye'. 

Harry stepped out the door and found himself on a busy wide street. Cars and bicycles of all shapes and sizes were hurrying about. All around there were restaurants, massage parlours, and small hotels trying to attract tourists with colourful signs. He tried to remember what the man had said. He went down one street to his right, then turned left and started walking on that street. He was glad that there was a sidewalk as the cars zooming past him were going fast and honking a lot. It did hurt his ears as such sounds rarely reached the wizarding world. He was quickly tiring, the walk making him hotter than it actually was, and he was sweating a lot. He cursed himself for not thinking to pack a bottle of water. He had been walking for some time when it occurred to him that perhaps he had gone the wrong way, or the hotel wasn't as near as he thought. He saw a small food-stand on a corner and tried to get directions, but the man just wanted to sell him the food. His stomach still churned at the thought of eating and he hurried off, a little bit green. He kept on walking, hoping to spot the building as he had seen it on a picture Ginny had taken on her previous trip. Still, no luck. 

The air started to change a bit around him. He could feel a sea breeze on his face and smell the water, hear the sound of gentle waves as the traffic lessened around him. Harry got excited at seeing the water and found himself hastening towards it with renewed energy. He finally reached the beach. It was full of people. They were on lounges and under umbrellas, in the water, parachuting over the water. It was a multitude of people and all around him he could hear people speaking in the dialects of British English. The white sand was emitting heat and the sea was azure. He itched to feel both between his toes, but he didn't want to get sandy and wet before he could change into his swimming trunks. He decided to ask one of the other tourists about the hotel, and after a bit of asking around, he finally managed to get reliable instructions from a woman who actually stayed at Banthai herself. She tried to chat him up afterwards, but he quickly mentioned his wife and left. 

After a few minutes walk, he did actually reach his destination and arrived to the hotel. It was actually a collection of several buildings near the beach. He walked inside and found himself in a large lobby. The reception was located all the way in the back with many pretty Thai women standing behind the long desk. He walked there and introduced himself, and then inquired about his wife. 

"Your wife is not in her room at the moment," he was informed. "Did you call ahead?" 

"No, I meant it as a surprise." 

"She's probably on the beach." 

"Can I change in the room, please?" 

"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm afraid I cannot let you in the room without your wife being present." 

Harry understood the security measure. Still, he wanted to change and leave his trunk there. After that, he planned to look for her on the beach and maybe get into the water while he was doing that. 

"Is there a toilet?" he asked, trying not to be embarrassed about the question. 

"Yes, down that corridor." She pointed. 

"Could I leave something here for her after that? Just something small." 

"I can put it in an envelope and then into her cubicle, if that is all right." 

"Yes, that'll be good." Harry was glad that he didn't have to pay attention to his trunk soon. 

He went into the toilet and enlarged his trunk with a wandless spell. His first order of business was to brush his teeth as he could still taste bile in his mouth. Next, he changed into his swimming trunks and flip-flops, and then applied some tanning potion onto his skin. Afterwards, he got out some money and put it into a small waterproof bag that had some nasty Thief Repellent Charms on it. With his wand, he shrunk his trunk again and darkened his glasses into sunglasses. He then put the wand into the bag as well and was ready to hit the beach. 

After he left the small box that was his trunk at the reception, he went out to the sea again. The first thing he did was to kick off his flip-flops and let his feet sink into the warm sand. However, that didn't prove to be such a good idea as it burned him a little, so he quickly put them back on. Next, he put his bag down on the ground and walked into the sea to let the waves envelope him. He even swam a few strokes. Grinning from ear to ear, he decided to start looking for Ginny. After all, it would have been even better to enjoy these delights with her. He first examined the hair of the people in the water near him. The good thing about marrying a redhead, he thought, was that she was easy to spot. However, he had to get out of the water as he couldn't see her there. Wet and shivering a little at the breeze, he took his bag and began to walk around the beach. He did see some redheads but none proved to be Ginny. 

He hoped he could find her soon, but after a few hours the sun had begun to set and people seemed to be heading back to their hotels. He didn't hurry back though. As the sky turned orange and red, painting the sea with similar colours, he sat down on an abandoned lounge-chair and just stared at the magnificent scenery before him. He was alone. He wanted to have a warm person beside him, to hold and enjoy the brilliance with. Letting a sigh escape his lips, he tore his gaze away and spotted a blond head a few chairs down, also watching the sunset. For a second, he thought it was Draco and felt a rush of delight spread out in him, but as the man turned, his face was all wrong, chiseled and entirely too masculine. Harry shook himself, and stood up. 

He hoped that Ginny would return and made his way back to the Banthai hotel. There he inquired after his wife again, but apparently she had not returned. Harry was getting really hungry by then and the receptionist recommended the hotel restaurant, The Port. She told him that if his wife turned up she could send someone to get him there. It was a good plan and he soon sat down on one of the brown chairs. It was right off the beach and he could  still enjoy the last moments of the daylight from there. The place was quickly filling up and he was glad that he arrived early. He ordered off the menu and was soon enjoying a nice fruit cocktail as he waited for his food. He ate all of an assortment of local seafood and even had some dessert accompanied by another cocktail, but his wife still hadn't returned to her room. He went back to the reception. 

"Perhaps she went to party straight away," the woman said and he had to agree with her. He didn't know it from his wife's accounts, but apparently Patong was party central. 

He asked for his trunk and changed in the bathroom once more. The receptionist seemed puzzled at his changed attire when he returned but didn't comment on it. He dressed casually, as he assumed that most people didn't dress up for the nightlife around there. He got a map of the city that highlighted some of the hotspots and left the hotel again. 

For half the night, he wondered about. He had never been in such a place like Patong. Skimpily-dressed men, women, and some people he was startled to find were somewhere in between, propositioned him at almost every corner, or called him into a club. He did go into some of the clubs, looking for Ginny, but she wasn't in any of them. It was past midnight when Harry was beginning to get really tired. The gaiety around him annoyed him more than cheered him up. He was getting frustrated, but went into just one more club. 

Like in most of them, the place was packed. Almost naked bodies gyrated to loud techno music, neon lights flashed, illuminating them and revealing that some of them were making out, or practically having sex standing up. Harry was amazed by what he was seeing. His wife loved Patong as she went there a lot. He couldn't understand it as he didn't imagine her loving the party atmosphere, which the city seemed to be all about. 

He walked to the bar, trying to find Ginny. A skinny Thai boy slinked next to him. His slim but muscular body gleamed gold from all the glitter. He wasn't wearing much, just some shorts and a smile. He leaned against the bar and got Harry's attention. 

"Hello, handsome." He fluttered his painted eyelashes in a coy manner. Harry supposed that it wasn't the best come-on, but if someone was as pretty as that boy, he probably didn't need much. 

"Sorry, I'm looking for my wife." Harry tried to get rid of him. 

"I can be your wife," he said, in heavily accented English. "I can be anything you want, mister. Don't need much money, very cheap, for a handsome man like you." 

"Sorry, not gay." 

"Of course not. I'm not either." He moved in closer, pushing the side of his body against Harry. He felt very warm and inviting. Harry felt the urge to swallow and the heat rise in his own body. The boy was blatant. Harry was not a rock and for a moment he was transported back to that night at the ball, hearing Adrian talk about what he would like to do to Draco. Harry shook his head and stepped away from the persistent boy. 

"I'm sorry," he said, and practically ran out the door. 

He really needed to find Ginny. 

He searched for another hour when he decided to get off the streets and try his luck in another club. It was the same as every other before it with loud music and neon lights, but this one seemed to take debauchery to a new level. It had booths that people could separate from the rest of the world by drawing curtains around them. However, these were white and Harry could see the silhouettes of the people inside. He got a bit hot as he realised they were all having sex. In some of these partitions he could make out more than two people. He had only ever been with Ginny and he found himself wondering for a moment about what a threesome or moresome would be like. He shook his head. The place was getting to him. He was just about to tear his gaze from a booth where he could count about five people engaged in enjoying each other, when one of the people stopped and started to leave. As the curtain was drawn back, he came face to face with none other than his wife. She spotted him right away too and they stood staring at each other for what seemed like an eternity. 

"Harry, what are you doing here?" Her tone was accusatory. 

"I could ask you the same thing," he managed to get out as a sort of reply. 

"None of your business," she retorted. 

"None of my business?!" Harry could feel his anger rising like never before. "I could see you through that curtain, Ginny! You were having sex with Merlin knows how many people! Sex! Is this what you have been coming for?!" 

"Yes, if you want to know! That awkward fumbling that you call sex and lasts a grand total of about five minutes is not good enough!" 

"You never said a thing!" 

"What should I have told you? That Dean could make me come more in ten minutes than you could through all the years of our marriage? That you're a terrible lover? Well, I guess I told you now." 

"Ginny, we could have tried to work it out, to make it better." Harry felt his world crumbling around him. 

"Ha! You know why I never did? I didn't care. It didn't matter. It didn't matter that you kiss like a dog, slobbering all over me, or that you have no idea how to touch me. All that mattered was that it was you. Harry Potter, rich, famous and going somewhere. I got over my crush on you by the time I was fourteen. However, I wasn't going to let a great catch like you get away. So I endured it. I suffered through it. I bore you children and then I was free. I went out into the world to finally enjoy my life away from you and those brats!" 

"I'm going to divorce you," Harry told her. 

"Go ahead. Thanks to that little law you and blondie passed, I can have the children, your money, the house, everything. You can slobber all over the bookworm now. What Ron saw in her is beyond me." 

Harry felt like he stood under a cold shower. His law-it backfired on him. A month before he could have just thrown the lying bitch on the streets. Now he was facing a court battle that would probably make all the major publication in Wizarding UK. He turned on his heel and ran out. He didn't stop. He ran down the brightly lit streets, music and the sound of people having fun a cacophony of sounds in his head. He was crying, his vision blurry, bumping into people, but he just ran until he could run no more. He stopped, leaning down and breathing heavily. It was over. His marriage was all over and if he couldn't convince a judge that he should raise his children, then they were gone too. His whole life just broke apart in front of him. 

He looked around and had no idea where he was. He needed to get back to the Floo, but he wasn't even sure if it was open so late at night. 

"It's the handsome mister!" came a voice from beside him and he had to look down to see the boy from the club. Apparently, he hadn't found another handsome mister so far. 

"Yes. Could you help me? I need to find this place." He pulled out the paper on which he had scribbled the name of the hotel, as on the other side he had jotted down the address of the Floo office. 

"It's far, mister. My room is near." The boy suggested. 

"I'm really not interested in that, but if you take me here, I'll give you money." 

"Ten dollars." 

"All right." Harry was glad that he had suspected that in some foreign countries the American money would be more appreciated than their local one. 

"Follow me, mister," the boy said, his smile brightening. 

He lead him to the correct house, for which Harry was glad. He half expected to end up in a dark alley and having to ward off a robbery attempt. 

"Here we are," the boy announced. "You sure not come to my room?" He wasn't giving up. 

"I'm sure." 

"You find wife?" 

"Yes." His voice was sad. 

"Not good?" 

"No. She was..." 

"Ah, people come to have sex. She come to have sex but not with you. You come have sex with me." 

"You are very nice, but I'm really not gay," Harry insisted. 

The boy shook his head. 

"I know. I always know. Maybe you not know and why you have problem with wife. Come with me and I show you." 

"I..." Harry, to his own amazement found himself considering the offer. The boy was really pretty, but as he thought about it, another boy came to mind, who had grown into a beautiful, blond man. "Really, no." 

"Alright." He looked disappointed. 

Harry got ten dollars out of his small bag and he gave it to the boy. They said goodbye and he entered the Floo office. He was glad to see that it was still open. 

A witch was yawning behind a desk as far away from the fire as the small room allowed. 

"Good evening. Can I travel to London, UK now?" Harry asked. 

The Thai witch looked up. She was very young and pretty. Harry wondered if there were any ugly Thai people, or they hid them somewhere. 

"Harry Potter?" she asked, pronouncing his name in a strange way. 

"Yes. I'm scheduled a week from now, but I'd really like to leave now." 

"Of course, Mr Potter. Just sign here." She gave him a blank sheet of paper. 

"Sign what?" 

"Autograph?" 

"Of course." Harry signed with great practice as he had given his autograph for many people before. He used another way to sign his name on official papers to distinguish the two. 

Afterwards, he was strapped into a seat that the girl levitated out of an adjoining room. She performed the spell and soon he was whizzing through the International Floo Network towards home. As he sprawled out the floor of the office in the UK and dry vomited, he was glad to be home. All he could think about was having a good cry on Draco's shoulder.


	15. What Harry Wants

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said of the previous chapter that it was a big one, but this is a major turning point. You'll see ... (snicker). This chapter had to be cut towards the end on fanfiction net, because they are enforcing their M limits again. Frankly, I always thought that much is okay on an M, but since it says anything explicit... 
> 
> Let me give you another warning, if you haven't gathered as much already. There is going to be a sexual encounter between two men in this chapter and in the following chapters as well. If you don't want to read anything explicit, please read the edited version on fanfiction net. Continue reading at your own risk.
> 
> Now, time to thank my lovely betas. Faye adored this chapter. She really liked the last bit. :P Icicle had less work with this one than the previous. She loved some of the imagery towards the end.

Harry Apparated into Malfoy Manor solely relying upon instinct to guide him. The upheaval in his soul was so great, he felt like he was again immersed in water like just a couple of hours before. His limbs moved with difficulty, and the currents of his emotions threatened to pull him down into the abyss. 

As he arrived into the foyer of the great house, he was thankful that Draco had added him to the wards. He didn't know which way to go, so he just started to walk down a corridor. The candles lit around him as he strolled-a spell that seemed to be in use all around the house. When he opened one of the doors, he realised that it was actually Draco's office. 

He looked around, hoping that the blond wouldn't mind. They had spent a lot of time scheming in there and he felt comfortable in the room. He walked to the cabinet where the Firewhisky was kept. He poured himself a glass from the ornate crystal decanter, thought of putting the bottle back, but then kept it with him. He sat down in his favourite spot on the couch and placed the bottle in front of him on the table. He downed the first glass fairly quickly, and then a second, a third, but the fourth one wouldn't slide down so fast into his practically empty stomach. In his quest to drink himself into oblivion, he didn't notice the door opening. He just realised that he wasn't alone when Draco sat down in front of him. 

"Is this a private party or can anyone join in?" he quipped. 

Harry glared at him for a second, and then his gaze dropped down to observe the amber liquid in his glass that he cradled in his hands. 

"What happened? I thought you would be shagging the Weaselette into a mattress about now." 

"Someone else was shagging her into a mattress," Harry remarked with dry humour. 

"Oh," was all Draco said and he stood to get his own glass. He poured it full and sat back down, his eyes on Harry. 

"Why aren't you asleep?" Harry asked, fishing for something to say that wasn't about his wife. 

"It's only 9pm." 

"Time difference. Right. I forgot." 

They lapsed into silence. Draco was obviously waiting for Harry to start speaking. However, he had to wait a while as he was well on his way to consuming his second glass of Firewhisky by the time Harry opened his lips again. 

"I've been such a fool. All along, I thought my wife loved me. So she wanted to see the world. Sure! Why not!" He laughed mockingly at himself. "When all along she was going away to hop into the bed of other men. Maybe women too. I found her in the middle of an orgy in some club, so I'm not sure." He looked up at Draco, noting that the man wasn't surprised. 

"I kind of guessed that's why she was going there. Harry, you may not know much about the world, but Patong is known for wild parties and casual sex. Men and women go there all the time to get laid. And for the record, I've never been, just heard about it. Apparently, straight and gay people can find willing bodies there equally," Draco explained. 

"Don't I know it." Harry smirked, remembering his guide. 

"Oh, did you exact revenge on her already?" 

"No." Harry reeled back at the idea. To him, sex was never casual. He just couldn't view it like that. "However, there was a very persistent boy that I met. I kept telling him that I wasn't gay, but he insisted that I was." Harry frowned. 

Draco laughed. 

"Maybe you should have given it a try. You may never know." 

"Draco, how did _you_ know?" He was curious, and the alcohol gave him the courage to ask. 

"My parents suspected ever since I was little. However, when we had the Yule Ball, Pansy insisted on getting a goodnight kiss. It was the vilest thing I've ever done... Now when Anthony Goldstein pulled me into an alcove during that horrible seventh year, that was the highlight of the whole year." Draco remembered fondly. 

"A kiss?" Harry asked, hissing the 's' like a snake and put down his empty glass to fill it up again. 

"Harry, believe me, you can know from a kiss. Sure, it was a bit strange at first, but it felt right. The things I've done since then just confirmed it." Draco finished his glass too and refilled. 

"I only ever really kissed Ginnnny. Cho once, but that was weiiird and doesn't really count." He shrugged. His words were becoming more slurred as the alcohol level rose. 

"Why, what's so great about kissing the redhead?" 

"It's Ginnnyy. She's..." Harry shook his head and took another swallow. "A liar. I believed every word!" He shouted, the alcohol getting to him. "Ginnnnyyyy. She said I'm aaawful. Terrrible. Now how was I supposed to know? It's only ever been her. Her. ... Just her." He was wavering between sadness and anger. 

"Okay, the alcohol is hitting you now. You drank so fast; it just caught up to you. Now why don't you quit before you pass out?" Draco tried to reason. 

"No!" He purposefully downed another glass and almost broke the glass as he smacked it against the table. "Another one!" 

"Okay, but this is the last one." Draco complied. He didn't want Harry to pour anyway. He was afraid he'd break the crystal. 

"I'm terrrible! So she cheats on me." Harry took a big swallow, nearly choking in his haste. "She didn't love me. Just married Harry Potter. .... You were right, Drrracooo. You're smart. And I'm bad in bed. Bad, bed." He giggled at the sound of the two words together. He looked into the smiling grey eyes before him. "Wanna kiss me?" 

Draco choked on his drink as he was just taking a sip at that moment. 

"What?!" 

"Kiss me," Harry repeated, emboldened by the alcohol. 

"Why?" 

"Maaaaybe I'm bad bed _because_ I'm gay." He swayed slightly, sitting on the couch. "Just a kiss." 

"We're friends," Draco pointed out. 

"Please?" 

Draco narrowed his eyes, assessing the man before him. 

"You're drunk." 

"Yeah." 

"I'm not drunk enough for this." 

Harry just pointed at the bottle, still remarkably full. Draco drank down what he had, poured, drank, poured again, and once finished with that, put the glass down. 

"Fine. If you hate it, just push me away," he said, as he got to his feet, swaying, and made it to the other couch through sheer force of will. He flopped down next to Harry and took his glass from him, placing it on the table. 

Harry looked into the grey orbs once again and gulped. However, the alcohol together with Gryffindor courage helped. He closed his eyes and waited. 

He felt lips on his. Thin but not too thin. More forceful than Ginny ever tried. They moved over his, and then pried them apart to plunge a tongue between his teeth. 

' _I'm kissing a man_ ,' was Harry's first thought, and then he told his mind to shut up and just feel. 

As the tongue sought out his and began to massage, he felt hot all over. He couldn't decide if it was the Firewhisky or the kiss, but it made him giddy. He sprang into action as well, returning the kiss. Harry felt hands in his hair, tugging him closer as their bodies also connected, and his hands also found the short blond strands. Harry's head was falling backwards, onto the soft armrest behind him. Draco was following him, not breaking the kiss and his body came to rest above his partner's. It wasn't very comfortable, but it felt strangely comforting. The kiss was warm, and Harry could taste even more Firewhisky, but it felt like the best kiss he ever had. The part of his brain that was still rational tried to point out that he didn't have much of an experience in that regard, but he supposed it was like eating chocolate. Even if you've never had much of it, you still knew which one you liked the most. 

"Draco," he breathed out as they broke for air. He opened his eyes, and his vision was once again filled with grey. Harry didn't want to stop, and he encouraged Draco with his hands to close the gap once more. His eyes closed again as the blond dove in for a second round. His mind shut down, and so did everything else, probably because he passed out. 

* * *

Harry woke up in a very dark room. It took his sight a while to get accustomed to the sliver of light coming from a gap in the curtains. He looked around, trying to make sense of the world through a pounding headache. His mouth tasted like something died in it. He was sure he was in a bedroom and based on what he could remember from the previous day, it was probably somewhere in Malfoy Manor. He tried to piece together the fragmented pieces of memory. He recalled arriving in distress over Ginny. Then the alcohol. The talk. Draco kissing him. Draco kissed him! He asked for it! Bloody hell! 

The kiss came back to Harry with disturbing clarity. The feel of a lean, hard body over his, pressing him down into the couch. The taste of Firewhisky and something else, masculine and sweet. Silky locks in his hand. He found, to his alarm, that the memory was making him hard. That was probably the single most disturbing thing at that moment, even worse than the headache. It also drew his attention to the fact that he was only in his boxers. He tried to shake his head to clear the memory, but it only served to increase his headache. He made himself stop such a foolish action, and he attributed it to not being in his right mind. He had to find his clothes. 

He tried to spring out of bed, but it proved to be another foolish action for two reasons. One was that the covers were thicker and heavier to what he was used to and when he attempted to fling them aside and jump out of the bed in one motion, he miscalculated. His legs got entangled in the covers. The second reason was that the bed happened to be a lot higher than what he was used to; therefore, what he estimated to being a small step down, turned out to be much steeper. The end result was that he fell out of the bed, legs entangled in the covers on top of the bed, hit his head with a bang into the floor rug, and was hanging upside down in a very uncomfortable position. In his dizzy state of mind, he called himself many kinds of fool, but his morning trial was not over. 

From the bed, a voice that sounded through the ringing in his ears like Draco, cursed aloud. 

"Harry?" he said, after a few choice words. 

Harry was not ready to try to sort himself out from his awkward position half on the floor and half on the stupidly high bed, so he just stayed quiet. 

Draco's head popped into view above him, and Harry was glad that he could only see the faint outline in the darkness and without his glasses. 

"Morning, Draco." 

"What are you doing on the floor?" 

"Napping." 

"Like that?" 

"Yeah. Good for the back." 

"Right." The head was gone for a second, but quickly returned and had the outline of a potion bottle next to it. "You'll have a hard time drinking the hangover relief in that position though." 

Harry knew from the sound of Draco's voice that he was trying not to laugh. 

"Fine. Help me?" 

Chuckling lightly, Draco freed Harry's legs and he tumbled down to the floor. He slowly got up and sat back on the bed. Malfoy handed him the potion and he gratefully gulped it down. In a second, his headache was a thing of the past and he sighed in relief. 

"Better?" 

"Much." 

Harry found his glasses on the table beside the bed and after he put them on he could observe the blond. To his alarm, the other man was in his boxers as well. 

'Hmmm. Draco... who ... took off my clothes?' he asked, blushing. 

"I did." 

"Did we ... do something?" 

"Yeah, we shagged. It was really phenomenal, don't you remember?" 

Harry's jaw dropped, and he stared in alarm. 

"Just kidding. Nothing happened. You passed out on the couch." 

"Thank Merlin! Not that... I mean..." 

"Relax. It's fine. Though, I have to admit, it's been a long time since anyone swooned when I kissed him." Draco smirked. 

Harry knew that he was just playing with him at that point. He laughed and got up with the intent of finding the bathroom. Draco also got up and pulled the nearest curtains apart. Light flooded the room and Harry could see that they were in an enormous bedroom. He walked up to the first door and found a walk-in closet behind it. It was filled with robes and shoes. Draco's bedroom then. 

"Why do you have so many clothes?" 

"I know it's kind of a cliché, but I'm a gay wizard. What do you expect?" 

Harry shrugged and tried the next door, which actually turned out to be the bathroom. He closed the door behind him and went about his business. As he was wondering about what to do for the taste in his mouth, a house-elf popped in with a tooth-brush. He also decided to shower since he still stank of sun and sweat. He was a bit reluctant to put his dirty boxers back on, but he had left his shrunken trunk in Patong. Once he was done, he went out to let the owner in. 

"Harry, I couldn't find your trunk and your clothes were filthy. I found you some robes that are a bit bigger and may fit you,' Draco instructed as he went to execute his own morning ritual. 

Harry found deep blue robes and white trousers on the bed. It was a colour combination he would have never worn. All his trousers were black or brown and he tended to stay away from blue as well. Except for a pair of Muggle jeans he bought for comfort. He put on the clothes and was glad to find that they did actually fit him. He found a triple mirror in one corner and gazed at his reflection. 

"I knew you'd look good," Draco noted as he exited the bathroom. 

"Interesting colours." 

"Yes, well, the lighter trousers make you look taller and leaner. The blue complements your hair well. You should wear more colours, Harry." 

"I suppose. Hermione should really get you a Barbie." He laughed, remembering the conversation they once had. 

"Oh, she did. A Ken too. I never would have thought Muggles could make something so clever." 

Harry stared in amazement that she had actually done it and Draco had actually liked the present. The other man disappeared into the closet and reappeared dressed. 

"Draco, about last night..." he began. 

"I get it, Harry. You were drunk and curious. It'll never happen again." He dismissed the topic with a wave of his hand. "So, let's get tea." 

"Tea?" 

"It's five in the afternoon," he said, pointing at the clock on the mantle. 

"Oh, okay." 

The afternoon tea room was already occupied. The two elder Malfoys sat around a low table in comfortable armchairs and were conversing. Harry had never been in that room and he was amazed at how warm it looked. It was full of green, which was apparently the Malfoy colour of choice but a lighter green. The chairs and even the walls were decorated with a forest motif. Among the green leaves Harry could see beautiful flowers and colourful birds. The latter moved as he was watching, to his surprise. He never knew that wallpaper could be charmed the same way as paintings. 

"Good afternoon, Mother, Father," Draco greeted. 

"Good afternoon, Narcissa and Lucius," Harry also chimed in. 

"Harry, back so soon?" Narcissa inquired. 

"Ah, yes, I ..." 

"He discovered his wife cheating on him and rushed back," Draco blurted out. Harry blushed. 

"How horrible!" Narcissa exclaimed, and motioned for the boys to sit down. She poured them both cups of tea and handed them the saucers. 

"Thank you," Harry said. "Yes, it was a nasty shock." 

"Are you going to get a divorce now?" Lucius asked. 

"Yes. I know that among Dark wizards who have arranged marriages such a thing would not be a reason for divorce, but I can't live like that." 

"It will be harder for you now, though. Wish you had made the discovery a few months ago. Keeping the children with you would have been easier," Draco stated. 

"So do I. However, Ginny has not been around much these past years, so that may work in our favour. If we could prove her lifestyle in Thailand, it would also be good grounds for getting custody of the children,' Harry pondered. The Malfoys agreed with him and the four of them began strategising how they should go about getting the divorce to go their way. As Lucius Malfoy stood to Floo one of his old friends, Harry tried not to dwell on the end of his marriage. There would be time for that later. 

Once they had a plan and Harry was full with tea and sandwiches, he stood to find his children. The house-elf they called informed them that Hermione was with the children in the indoor pool. Harry was led there and when he stepped in, the architect of Malfoy Manor didn't disappoint once more. 

The pool room was a lot like the greenhouses he had previously visited. The ground wasn't stone or wood but actual warm sand. It wasn't as white as in Thailand but rather beige. There were palm trees surrounding a large pool that apparently got deeper the further someone went in from the entrance. The pool itself was tiled with blue tiles that had the pattern of waves on them. Harry also spotted a large Jacuzzi off to the side. His children along with Hermione and Scorpius were playing in the shallower part of the pool, throwing a beach ball around. Harry laughed as Lily squealed when her ball went so high, Scorpius had a hard time catching it. Hermione spotted Harry first, as she was standing in the deepest part and was facing the entrance. 

"Harry!" she called out. 

"Dad!" his children exclaimed and were about to run to him. 

"Stop! Dry first," Hermione instructed and all three of them did as they were told. 

Harry was glad to be surrounded by them and hugged them tightly. Hermione and Scorpius also left the water and she had a question on her face. Harry just mouthed 'later'. 

"So, can I join?" he asked. 

Everyone nodded enthusiastically and he was shown the swimwear closet. Harry changed and was soon in the water, his worries forgotten for the time being. 

* * *

In the evening, once everyone under ten was in bed, Harry and the Malfoys filled Hermione in on their plan of action. She gave her own input and some more strategising ensued. However, soon everyone was dropping off, only Harry and Draco were left awake in the house. 

"Want to come to my sitting room?" Draco invited. 

"Okay, I'm not tired at all." 

"Harry, we only got up five hours ago." 

"Oh right." 

As Harry got cosy in another set of beautiful sofas, he wondered how come his were so terribly uncomfortable? 

"Harry, about last night...," Draco began. 

"I liked it." 

"You were drunk." 

"I still liked it." 

"It may not mean anything." 

"But you said ... you said you knew from a kiss." 

"Yes. It still doesn't have to mean anything, Harry." 

"But it does. To me." Harry wished that he had some Firewhisky in his system again, but if he did, then Draco wouldn't believe him. "It felt right. And good. Look, I'm scared of what that may mean, but these recent months I've learned that I didn't like my life. I thought it was perfect, but now I just don't know how I could. It was like being asleep and now I'm finally awake. I thought I wanted to be an Auror." Harry frowned. "I do love helping people, but I never liked violence, being a slave to hierarchy and Ministry bureaucracy. As a politician, I can help more people than ever before. I didn't see the world around me for many years. I never noticed how unhappy Hermione was, or how much of a bigot Ron was. Even if I did see it, I ignored it. I also ignored just how bad my marriage was. I hated a lot of things about the house we lived in, about the way we lived, but I never said a thing." 

"That _is_ strange," Draco noted. 

"What is?" 

"I never thought that you would be the kind of person who would just lie down and take everything silently." 

"That's really not me, is it?" Harry mused. 

"When did it start?" 

"Years ago." Harry fell silent for a while, silently asking himself the same question. When had he surrendered his own wants and desires to that of Ginny? "It all seems a bit hazy now. I got back with Ginny right after the War. During that hellish year, all I could think about was her and how after it was all over, I could be with her. She felt like home. The Burrow was the warmest and safest place I've ever known and she was a piece of it. So I was with her during that supplementary year. You didn't attend, as I recall, you finished your schooling at home." Draco just silently nodded. "We sat for our NEWTs. Ginny was supposed to finish a year later, but she studied hard and could sit for the NEWTs with us. After school I moved to the Burrow. I proposed to Ginny as I was afraid that the Weasleys wouldn't let me stay in her room otherwise. We soon joined the Auror programme and Ginny played Quidditch. We got married in autumn and moved to a new house." 

"Pretty smooth sailing." 

"Yeah, it was." Harry felt that there was something wrong with that memory though. As if he was missing something. He closed his eyes in an effort to delve deeper into his memories. 

He still had the feeling that he had forgotten an important piece of his past. He followed the feeling and found himself sitting in the living room in the Burrow. Ginny was beside him and he had his arms around her as she leaned into him. Bill and Fleur were also in front of him in a similar position, but they kept glancing at each other even as they talked. Their eyes. They bothered him. He couldn't name what it was exactly at first, but then he realised that it was true love. They seemed to shine with an inner light. He looked down at Ginny and he couldn't see it. Then he thought of himself and he couldn't feel it. Not that love. 

At that moment, it hit him. Ginny was safe, comfortable, part of the Burrow, home but not love, passion, desire. When he was away, training hard, he didn't think of going home to her. He thought of going home to all of the Weasleys. About Molly's pumpkin pie and Sunday roast. Conversing with Arthur about random Muggle things. Chatting with Ron about training. He had only been together with Ginny a year and the thought of sex with her didn't raise his interest. He wasn't in love with Ginny. 

Harry recalled talking to her that night. He gently tried to tell her without actually saying out loud that he wasn't in love. She asked him to wait, consider it, to go to sleep and maybe talk about it when they weren't so tired. Then the talk never came. 

"I didn't love her," Harry broke the silence. 

"What?" Draco was startled by the sudden words. 

Harry had been sitting there with his eyes closed for some time and he spoke without opening them. Once he did, he felt tears in his eyes at the revelation. 

"I wasn't in love with Ginny when I married her. But then why did I marry her?" 

"Did you talk to her about it?" 

"Yes. She told me to sleep on it." 

"What happened when you brought it up again?" 

"I never did." 

Draco frowned again. 

"Why not?" 

"I don't know. It was like I had forgotten. We got married a month later." 

"Were you planning to?" 

"Yes, but there was a point when I thought of calling it off. Then everything got hazy, and I forgot about that. All I wanted to do was to please Ginny." 

"Then what happened?" 

"Like I said, we got the house. It was yellow...like Ginny wanted. Then she furnished it. Got that awful sofa in the sitting room." 

"That is awful. It's not only ugly, but terrible to sit in." 

"It is." 

"Did you say anything to her about it?" 

"No." 

"Why not?" 

"I just...don't know." 

Draco looked at him with eyes that seemed to gaze into his soul. 

"Harry, when did you start that special diet with Hermione?" 

"In October, when she announced she was going to get a divorce." 

"It made you feel different?" 

"Yes. I had more energy. It was like the fog I had been stumbling in had suddenly lifted and I could see everything more clearly. I must have been ill." 

"Harry, you were not ill," Draco said with confidence. 

"You're not a mediwizard." 

"I'm not, but remember, I was great in Potions. So much so, that I became a Potions master. I always loved it, but I had to follow the family tradition of politics. Not that I don't love that as well. However, I became a Potions master for myself. What you just told me reminds me of an old potion Light Families used when they had an unwilling bride. It made her complacent and desperate to please. Practically like a lapdog." 

"Draco, what are you saying?" 

"She's been drugging you, Harry." 

"But...that is not possible! Especially not since Lily's birth. She was hardly home." 

"You have a house-elf, right?" 

"Yes." 

"Summon it." 

"Dinky!" 

The house-elf appeared with a pop and Harry stared at Draco, not wanting to consider where he was going. 

"Ask Dinky if she was giving you a potion." 

"Were you?" Harry asked, not wanting to repeat what Draco said. It felt like an accusation. 

"Yes, Master. Mistress instructed Dinky to put it into Master's fruit juice every morning. When Master didn't want to drink fruit juice anymore, I couldn't put it into anything. Mistress instructed it had to be taken with sugar. Master not eat sugar anymore," the nervous house-elf revealed. 

"Did Mistress tell you what sort of a potion it was?" 

"She said it was for Master's good health." 

"Dinky, please, gather my things and the children's, then bring everything here. You can also stay here with the other house-elves. I won't be returning to the house," Harry instructed quietly and the elf popped away. 

"Sugar. That is important in catalysing the effects of the potion," Draco said. 

"You were right." Harry felt like an idiot. All this time, he had been drugged. 

"I'm sorry I was. It does explain a lot, though." 

"You don't mind us moving here? I should have asked for your permission first." Harry hung his head. 

"No, Harry. We love having all four of you around." 

Harry looked into Draco's eyes. They were full of some soft emotion, and then it hit him. It was the same look he saw in the memory that Bill and Fleur shared. He was momentarily startled by the discovery. Draco loved him. Perhaps he knew it, perhaps not, but the emotion was there. He wasn't sure what to do with the information. He was afraid that the previous evening he had toyed with those emotions and hurt Draco. The blond has done so much for him. He was confused as to how to go on. He wanted to experiment further, but if it hurt the other man, he wouldn't forgive himself. 

"I like being here. It's such a beautiful place," Harry said, when he realised he had been staring for a while. 

"We had the whole Manor refurbished after the War. Even the parts that hadn't been tainted by Voldemort just brought back bad memories. I oversaw most of the design along with my mother. My father was rather busy at the time." 

Harry cringed at remembering that Lucius was in Azkaban at the time. 

"Can we use the potion thing against Ginny?" 

"Maybe, Harry. However, I'm sure the potion itself is not illegal. What its use will mean in court, we can discuss with the solicitor." 

"Probably Hermione was drugged too," Harry realised. 

"Yes, very likely. We'll have to discuss it tomorrow with her." 

"At least I got three wonderful children out of it." Harry saw the bright side of the whole sordid affair. 

"Yes. Those three are really worth all what you had gone through. I feel the same way about Scorpius." 

They shared a smile at the thought of their children. 

"About last night..." Harry began. 

"Harry, you liked it. Fine. It was just a kiss." 

"It's what I began to tell you, Draco. I really liked it. I ..." He blushed at what he was about to say. "I want to try it again." 

Draco stared at him, but it wasn't the amused smirk Harry expected. The blond looked a bit scared. Harry suspected it was because of his feelings. However, he needed to see if kissing Draco sober felt as good as drunk. For once, he had to put his own needs before others, or in this case, Draco Malfoy's. 

"Alright, Harry. Like before, if you don't like it, then you can still push me away." Draco broke him out of his thoughts, got up from the sofa opposite Harry, and walked over, just like the night before. 

Harry could feel his heart racing, his palms getting slick with nervous sweat. When Draco sat down next to him, he swallowed and put his glasses down. Draco placed his right hand behind his head, and gently pushed their lips together. The soft pink pillows that were the blond's lips moved gently over Harry's, and then they opened to let his tongue out to play. Harry also parted his lips and when their tongues met, neither could resist a moan. Harry's right hand found its way into blond hair in an effort to keep their lips locked as the kiss became more passionate. Their tongues moved more rapidly and Harry moaned again as he felt himself getting impossibly aroused. Just as his left hand tried to find an opening under Draco's robes and shirt to touch the pale skin underneath, Draco broke the kiss. 

For what seemed like hours, the grey orbs stared into green, as if searching for something. 

"Draco," Harry broke the silence. 

'Harry, I...' His voice broke and his hand shook behind Harry's head. 

"Draco, kiss me more," Harry pleaded. 

"If I kiss you again, I may not be able to stop. As much as you enjoy it, Harry, I'm not sure if you want to do more." He let his hand drop into his lap, but his eyes didn't leave Harry's. 

Harry was painfully aroused. That much he knew. He also knew he wanted to explore further. He couldn't remember any girls' kisses ever affecting him so much, but he was also afraid. The thought of embracing what he felt was terrifying. It wasn't just the physical aspect. Kissing Draco felt so right, as if it was the one thing he was missing from his life. When he was still happy with Ginny, she felt like home. Draco, however, felt like fire; deliciously warm, almost burning, and still consuming. He felt alive. He didn't want the feeling to stop. It wasn't just about the physical things that Draco made him feel, either. All his life he had been looking at the blond, and while he kept telling himself that he was checking what his enemy was up to, he had been lying to himself. He had been watching the strangely beautiful pale boy he had met in the robe shop. Draco was also smart, intelligent, and he enjoyed his company. In their adulthood their differences had become milder and their similarities strengthened. Harry wanted to be with him. He wanted to be the one to whisper dirty things in his ear on a balcony in the middle of a party. He wanted that lean body in his arms and those lips on his. However, he also wanted to feel so calm, secure and at peace with the world as he has when he slept next to Draco in the greenhouse 

"I want to try more. I'm sure, Draco. It's like I've found what I've been missing," he confessed. 

"We'll take things slow, Harry. We won't go all the way. I just want you to relax about that. I'm just going to show you things. If at any time you feel uncomfortable, or like it's too much, let me know and I'll stop." 

Harry nodded and Draco stood up. He held out a hand to Harry and the other man took it to stand up. He remembered the time he wouldn't take Draco's hand again. As much as he didn't want to be connected to the blond then, there had always been something between them. Perhaps all this time, this was where they were heading. 

Draco led him to his bedroom and the enormous bed they had shared the previous evening. They stopped next to it and Draco slipped his robe off, letting it pool around his feet. He locked eyes with Harry as he unbuttoned his shirt, but not too slowly, he was too impatient for that. As the pale torso was revealed, Harry couldn't help his gaze darting down to drink it all in. The flat chest seemed more inviting than Ginny's more rounded one, even though she never had large breasts, just when she was breastfeeding. It was those male nipples he wanted to taste. Then Draco bent to pull his trousers off, and in a second he was standing in a pair of tight boxer shorts. 

"Now it's your turn." 

Harry made short work of his clothes, he was so eager to get on with it. When they were both down to their underwear, they crashed together, lips locking. However, there was nothing gentle about it. It felt like a battle as to who could consume the other one. When Harry kissed Ginny before, he never felt the tension. She was the passive one, but there wasn't anything passive about Draco. Either of them could win the battle for dominance and it was a challenge. The fight thrilled Harry. 

They fell on the bed, hands sliding over naked flesh. Draco managed to get the upper hand in their erotic wrestling and attacked Harry's nipples. They both moaned. 

"Your skin tastes so good. I bet you taste better down south," Draco said with a wicked grin. 

He travelled along the path of the dark hair that led all the way into Harry's boxers and when he reached the waistband, he got that off as well with Harry's help. As his aching manhood sprang forth, he couldn't look away from Draco's face hovering over his erection. The blond looked down, then back up, and slowly lowered his lips to encase the tip. He gave it an experimental suck, and Harry almost lost it right there. Draco slowly slid his lips down until Harry's member hit the back of his throat. Then, ever so slowly, he pulled back up, sucking all the way. Harry couldn't believe how good it felt and looked. Draco repeated the process again and again, slowly gaining speed. By the time he had a more satisfying rhythm going, Harry was moaning uncontrollably, and had a hard time keeping his hips from trusting into those pink lips. Draco grasped the base of Harry's cock, and his left hand began to help in providing more friction. Suddenly, he swallowed Harry all the way down and hummed. At that point, the other man couldn't take anymore and came explosively into the waiting mouth, his cries of pleasure reverberating around the room. 

When his spurts ceased, and he was once again flaccid, Draco let him go and crawled up to his face. He was grinning like the proverbial cat. Harry's breathing was still rapid. The blond caressed his face tenderly. 

"I'm going to hazard a guess and say that you enjoyed that." 

"You think?" Harry managed to get out. 

When he was breathing normally again, he kissed Draco deeply. It was strange to know that the salty taste in the other man's mouth was from him. 

"I can't believe you swallowed all that." 

"I like how you taste, Harry." 

They both grinned. 

"My turn. Now...I've never done this before. I don't know what you like, so if I do anything wrong, just tell me." 

"Okay. I'll let you know ahead. If at some point you don't have a finger in my arse, you're doing it wrong." The blond smirked and lay back, spreading his legs to make room for Harry. 

Harry was a bit nervous as he took in the pale feast of flesh, but he let it go and resolved to enjoy the moment. This was exactly what he wanted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't kill me. I hope you liked it. I was wavering between it being abrupt or not, but I thought I built it up well. What do you think?


	16. Being With Draco

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays everyone! Good news is that there are only a few more chapters to go. I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I rewrote the ending. When I started the story I wrote out a detailed summary of what is going to happen. However, as I wrote this chapter, I realised a few things about the kind of man my Harry was. Maybe he doesn't seem all that cannon sometimes, but we do have to take into account that it's 15 years after the War, and he's the father of three children. Above all, he's a good father, and when I rewrote the ending, I was thinking like he would. 
> 
> I am planning on writing the end before the new year. 
> 
> Always looking for likes to Zelda of Arel and Drarry Shippers on Facebook. Adults only! 
> 
> Now, time to thank my lovely beta. Faye did this chapter alone. She was very sweet about it, and didn't make a lot of corrections. She always encourages me when I have my bouts of self-doubt. 
> 
> Read and review guys! Love reviews. Who doesn't?

Harry fought down his nervousness and attempted to concentrate on the gorgeous body under him. Draco was pale as moonlight, white creamy skin glistening in the candlelight. He was mostly hairless, whether naturally so or artificially, Harry couldn't tell. He was looking at Harry with an eager smile on his face, eyes shining with anticipation. 

Harry swallowed, and lay down on top of the blond to kiss him. He felt the other man's erection through the confines of his boxer shorts, and a flash of desire to touch it and lick it shot through him. He kissed along the long, elegant neck, nipping in places, but trying not to leave a mark. Draco appeared to be very sensitive there as he was keening already. He tasted like vanilla and strawberry, which was just perfect. Harry teased the flat nipples with his tongue, filing away for later that his partner liked that as well. He was in no rush, he wanted his first time exploring a male body to be thorough. As he mapped out every little scar on the beautiful torso, he took note of when the other's breath hitched, when it didn't. He also tried not to dwell on the slightly raised scars he knew were the remains of his Sectumsempra. 

Finally, he reached the waistband of the boxer shorts and pulled it down. Draco's erection sprang forth, and he sat back on his heels to gaze at it. He had never thoroughly examined another man's cock before. Of course, he had seen others in the communal showers, but he always tried not to look too closely. It was a darker pink than the rest of him. Already erect, it was a bit smaller than his and thinner. The tip curved slightly upwards. The blond curls around the base were obviously clipped and stylised, but not taken completely off. It looked beautiful to him, just like the rest of the man. He felt the saliva pool in his mouth, and he bent down to give the tip an experimental lick. Draco moaned what could have been his name, but he was too focused on the member before him. The taste was slightly rubbery and salty, but not overpoweringly so. Harry got comfortable, lying on his belly and keeping himself up on his elbows. He bent his head again and remembered how he liked it. He swirled his tongue around the head, then slowly went down, to suck the shaft into his mouth. When he couldn't take anymore, he flattened his tongue against the underside, and went back up, only keeping the tip in his mouth. He kept repeating the procedure until he worked out a rhythm, that wasn't too slow or fast. When he didn't have to concentrate on keeping his teeth away, he started to play with Draco's balls, rolling them in his hand. The sounds the other man gave proved that he liked that as well, and turned Harry on incredibly. 

He moved his right hand lower to find Draco's anus. He felt a bit weird about putting his finger in there, but he supposed soon enough another part of his anatomy would also be inside the man. As his fingertip encountered the opening, he circled it, partly to tease, partly to actually find the entrance, as he was keeping his eye on the beautiful face above him. Draco's eyes were closed, his head periodically turned from side to side, he moaned, keened, and sighed. Harry couldn't believe the variety of voices he was making. As he inserted a finger into its destination, he saw the blond jerk and let out an even louder moan. Harry almost forgot to pull out his finger, he was so transfixed by what the man was doing. Then he noticed that he needed to lubricate his finger, as it was dry down there. He should have realised that before, but it was just one of those things that was so different from a woman's body. So he put his middle finger into his mouth to spread his saliva over it, and put it back in. He returned to sucking the gorgeous cock before him, and timed his finger to synchronise with the movements of his mouth. 

"Faster," Draco breathed out. 

Harry complied and increased the speed of his movements. Draco under him was trying to hold back, he knew, but he still made little jerks to either have Harry take more of him into his mouth, or put more of his finger into his arse. When the moans changed into Harry's name in a breathless and repeated fashion, he knew the man was close, and wasn't surprised when, his mouth was flooded with his seed, and the tight ring of muscles clenched around his finger. He tried to swallow, but it was so much, he choked, and ended up coughing it up onto the bed in an effort not to suffocate. 

He looked down at Draco. His hair was a tangled mess, his skin was a rosy hue all over, and his breathing was still uneven. Still, he wore a happy and satisfied smile. When his eyes opened, he grinned wider at Harry, and held his arms out for him. Harry laid on top of him, kissing sloppily. 

"That was incredible," Draco spoke up. 

"Yeah," Harry agreed, grinning. "Brilliant." 

"I'm so glad you enjoyed it." 

Harry blushed. It was very obvious that he had enjoyed it, as his erection pressed into the flaccid member of the pale man. 

"Want me to take care of that?" the exhausted blond asked. 

"You don't have to." 

"Believe me, I can't do more than pull you off at the moment." He reached down and took the darker cock into his hand. 

Harry moaned, and closing his eyes, let him enjoy the moment. It didn't take much, and his cum joined the pool that was gathering between them from their activities. 

"I'm exhausted." 

"Me too. Let's shower together, Harry. Meanwhile, the house-elves can change the sheets." 

Harry blushed at the house-elves knowing what they had been up to. 

"Maybe we could just pull them off?" Harry suggested. 

"All right," Draco complied. 

They made quick work of pulling down the soiled bed sheet, and left it in a pile on the floor. 

After a quick shower, where they managed to only kiss, Harry fell asleep with Draco Malfoy in his arms. He had never slept so peacefully. 

* * *

As Harry was waking up, he wasn't really aware of where he was, or what day it was. His mind still groggy with sleep, only registered that he was in a very comfortable bed, and he was hugging someone in his sleep. He opened his eyes, and he saw the top of a white blond head. His chin was buried in the soft strands, the body of his companion moulded against his front. As he moved slightly, his soft cock brushed against the backside of the person, and as he groaned, he heard an accompanying sound from the man in his arms. 

"Morning, Harry." 

"Morning, Draco." He grinned to himself, as the memories from the previous night returned. 

Draco turned his head around and gave him a soft kiss. 

"What are your plans for today?" Draco asked. 

"What day is it?" 

"Monday." 

Harry groaned. 

"Shouldn't we go to work?" 

"There is no Wizengamot meeting this week, remember? That was why you picked last Saturday to go to Thailand. No courts either. Do you want to get the divorce on the way? There may be no courts, but we can still get the ball rolling." 

"Yes. I'll have to go talk to Hermione's solicitor." 

"I'm sure that once we prove that Ginny cheated on you, everything will be all right. She hadn't been exactly a model mother either. Also, there's the whole affair with the potion." 

"I'm just not so sure I want to bring up the cheating, or the potion." 

"Harry..." 

"It's not like I'm faithful." 

"That's different. Or you regret last night." Harry could hear the start of a sulk in his voice. 

"No." He kissed a pale shoulder. "Never. I'm just...not sure if I can do that to the children. She's still their mother. The divorce will surely be in the papers, and what I do will reflect on them as well." 

"A mother who hardly even looked at them. A mother who would only take them away from you to hurt you. Harry, please, for their sake, don't protect her," he pleaded. 

"I'm protecting them, not her. The wrongs she had done could be a stigma on them, too." 

"Then what do you want to do?" 

"Maybe I could pay her off, just like you would your wife." 

"Harry." The blond sighed in frustration and got up. He headed to the bathroom. He turned back, halfway through the door. "We discussed this yesterday. You were on board. Perhaps, you're still clinging to that potion-induced complacency you had been under all these years." 

Harry sighed too and sat up. The morning had started out so well, and now it had all gone pear-shaped. Last night he just went with what he wanted, damn the consequences. However, in the morning, they reared their ugly heads. 

The Thai boy had been right. He really was gay. What they had done aroused and excited him more than anything he had ever done sexually before. He wanted Draco. He really had always wanted Draco. And he was mucking it all up. However, he was afraid of what the future had in store for his children. A messy divorce would be bad for them, too. In spite of everything, they loved their mum. He buried his head in his hands and groaned. He had woken up, but his life had become so much more complicated. 

"Harry." 

He hadn't heard the bathroom door open. Draco went to sit down next to him, and took his hands in his to force the other man to look at him. 

"It's going to be all right, Harry." He hugged him, and the physical contact made Harry feel safe. "I'm going to be by your side all the way. I know it's going to be hard. Things are going to get messy, and the press is going to have a field day. However, you have to go through this. For your sake and for the children. In a year, this will all be behind us, and all we'll have to concentrate on is making the wizarding world a better place, and bringing our children up." 

Harry raised his head, and gently kissed Draco. It didn't turn passionate, just a sweet and comforting kiss. 

The two men got dressed, and went down to breakfast together. In the breakfast room, Hermione was just waking up with the help of some coffee. Lucius was in his dressing gown, reading _The Prophet_ and munching on some toast. Narcissa was cutting into her eggs. The four children were behaving themselves, and trying not to shovel their cereals into their mouths. Harry looked around, observing the domestic scene before him. Perhaps, for a long time, all his mornings would look like that. 

"Good morning, everyone," they both greeted and sat down, next to each other. 

Hermione looked up, and narrowed her eyes. She was obviously suspecting something. Harry tried not to blush at what she was probably thinking. 

"Everyone, I have an announcement to make," Harry began. "We're not returning to our house. We discussed it with Draco, and for a while, all four of us are going to live in the Manor." 

Harry was a bit afraid of what his children would say to that, but the exclamations of joy put his mind at rest. The older Malfoys were smiling as well, and Hermione wore a wide grin. 

"I already had Dinky bring all of our things here." 

"That's why I found everything in my room this morning!" James spoke up. "We're still going to school though, right?" 

"Of course. Do you have everything ready?" 

Albus and Lily nodded, but James quickly spooned a few more mouthfuls of his breakfast in, and left the table. 

"Why does Al have to go to school?" Scorpius moaned. "He could study at home with me. He's bored there anyway." 

"It does him good to be with other children," Harry answered. 

"But he hates it." 

"Al, do you really hate school?" 

Albus blushed, but nodded. 

"It's so boring, Dad. All the other children are so behind. Then they tease me for being smart, and the teacher bugs me for not paying attention. I don't like any of it." He hung his head. 

"Draco, what do you think? Could Al join Scorpius?" 

"I don't see why not. I'll probably have to discuss it with the tutor, but I'm sure he can handle two such well-behaved boys," he said, pointedly, making the warning to behave clear. 

"All right, we'll give it a try." 

Both boys cheered. 

"I like going to school," Lily spoke up, tired of being ignored. Everyone chuckled a bit at that. 

After breakfast all the children got sorted out. Draco spoke to the tutor, and Harry got the other two to their respective schools. Upon returning, he was instructed to join Hermione and Draco in the office. He knew that it was time to tell her that she had been under the influence of a potion. 

On the way there, he thought about telling Hermione about his budding relationship, but he wasn't sure. It was a big revelation about himself, and he wanted to declare it from the rooftops. However, he wasn't all that sure just what sort of relationship he now had with Draco. Was it friends with benefits? Boyfriends? They just didn't get around to discussing it yet. In the end, he decided to see what Draco would do. If he didn't say anything, then Harry wanted to discuss things in the evening. 

When he arrived, instead of taking up his customary position beside Hermione, he sat down next to Draco. 

"Are we going to call the solicitor now?" Hermione began. 

"No, not yet," Draco said. "We made an interesting discovery last night. Before we tell you about it, please tell us how you got married to Weasley." 

"Oh, let me think now." Hermione paused, gathering her thoughts "It was some time ago. We really got together after he returned and saved Harry during that year. We were together during the supplementary year at school and it was all going well. I was thinking about what sort of an apprenticeship I should apply for. I had my eye on a healer, or perhaps some sort of a research position. It was at that time that Ron started pushing me about marrying straight out of school. I loved him, of course, but wasn't so sure about that. We had been through so much, but we were still so young. Rationally, it didn't seem wise. I also thought of living on my own for a while. I was so dependent on the Weasleys. If I got a job, I didn't have to move to the Burrow after school." 

"What changed?" Harry asked. He didn't remember Hermione ever talking to him about apprenticeships. 

"Well, for a while, I humoured Ron. I accepted his proposal, but told him that I wanted a long engagement. He could visit me at my apartment, and we wouldn't have to put up with all the ruckus at the Burrow." 

Harry saw Draco make a face at what Hermione was referring to. It was a bit childish, and he had to stifle a laugh. 

"I sent out my letters to some available positions. However, I didn't get anything back until we left school, so I had to go to the Burrow." At that point Hermione frowned. Harry recognised the sign of her memories becoming vague, just like his have. "I know I got back answers, but by then I was caught up in organising the wedding with Mrs Weasley. Then we got married a few weeks before you did, Harry. I got busy with helping Mrs Weasley around the house. She kept telling me that to be a good wife I had to learn this and that, and I was so eager to please. It's like I forgot all about my earlier plans. Why did I do that?" her face was puzzled. 

"We know why." Harry felt it was his place to tell her about what had really happened. "You were being dosed with a potion." 

"A potion?" Hermione was startled. 

"Yes, a complacency potion. It made you want to go along with what you're told. It was in the fruit juice, same as with me," Harry revealed. 

Hermione turned white, then red, then white again, obviously unable to decide whether to be sad, or angry. 

"He was doing it to me! But how? He was pants at Potions." 

"Ginny wasn't so good at it either." 

"I have an idea," Draco spoke up. "The potion that they must have used is an old recipe, mostly used by Light Families. You were both introduced to the potion at the Burrow. Therefore, someone there must have given the potion to you. My money would be on the older Weasleys." 

"Why would they do this to us?" Hermione wondered out loud. 

"Their children wanted you. Probably promised grandchildren. The Potter fortune must have come in handy too." 

"I did help them to renovate the Burrow," Harry recalled. "It only seemed right, since we lived in that new house." 

Draco nodded. 

"Can we use that in the divorces?" 

"I'm not sure if I want to," Harry confessed. 

"Why?" Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. 

"We both have children, Hermione. If this gets out, how will they react? On the one hand the press will tear everything apart. On the other hand, maybe they'll think we never wanted them..." Harry was surprised by what he said, but as soon as it came out, he realised that it's what was underneath the surface of his thoughts. 

"Oh Harry, I'm sure they won't. We love them, no matter how they came to being." Hermione tried to reassure him. "What if we keep the whole thing as a last resort?" 

"Okay." 

"Now can we call the solicitor?" Draco spoke up. 

The Gryffindors agreed and soon they were discussing Harry's divorce. 

* * *

The rest of the day was spent with the children, and with some swimming. Before he started to spend time in the pool room of Malfoy Manor, Harry hardly ever spent time in the water, but he realised that he really loved it. He was a bit clumsy when it came to the actual strokes, and Draco along with Hermione helped him to become better at them. Sometimes though, his clumsiness could be attributed to the fact that Draco in his tiny swim shorts was a very enticing sight. If Hermione had not been in the water with them, they would have had to lock the doors. 

After dinner, the children retreated to finish their homeworks and play among themselves, or in Lily's case, to go to sleep. The boys had a house-elf keeping an eye on them, who was also instructed to get them to bed in a few hours. 

Hermione also retreated to her room to read. That left Harry and Draco to return to Draco's rooms. Harry was a bit nervous about the discussion that he wanted to have, but he was also looking forward to it. As the door closed behind them, however, Draco slammed him against the door and snogged the breath out of him. When he came up for air, both were a bit dazed. 

"I wanted to do that all day," he smirked. 

"Draco, we need to talk about this." 

The blond sighed, and sat down on one of the sofas. Harry wondered where to sit, but decided to sit in front of him, to avoid getting caught up in something physical. 

"Okay, Harry, talk." 

"I just... wanted to clear up what this is between us." 

"What do you think it is?" Draco was on the defensive, and Harry didn't like it. 

"I don't know, Draco. The only real relationship I've ever been in was with Ginny, and apparently, for the most part, that wasn't real either. Not to mention, you're a man!" 

"I know I'm a man." He smiled. 

"You know what I mean. Two days ago I didn't even know I liked men. Now I want nothing but to tear your clothes off." 

"Well, you can do that." 

"Draco. I just want you to be honest once." 

"You want honesty? I want that too. What was last night to you? Just an experiment?" Draco's smile vanished, and the steel of his eyes bore into Harry. 

"No. I'm not that kind of a man. I like you, Draco. A lot. My attraction to you had been growing these past months, I just refused to acknowledge it. Now that I have, I want to be with you. I want to give this a shot." 

"A proper relationship?" 

"Yes." 

"All right, but not before you get a divorce. It could be a hindrance to getting what you want." 

"So we wait?" 

"Well, we wait to let the public know. Behind closed doors, that's a different story." He got up, and slightly swinging his hips, approached Harry. He leaned back to appreciate the view, and Draco climbed into his lap, straddling him on both sides. Harry put his arms around him, and their lips soon met in a kiss. It became heated right away, and Draco started to move his hips against Harry's crotch. Harry broke his lips away to moan. 

"We'd better take this to the bedroom. I don't want to come in my pants." 

"Okay." Draco got up a bit reluctantly, and with some difficulty, they both headed to the bedroom. 

"Draco, what about Hermione and your parents?" 

"My parents already know, and Hermione probably suspects, so we can let them know officially tomorrow." 

"She suspects?" 

"Harry, we came down together, you sat next to me all the time, and she couldn't have missed the way you were ogling me in the pool." 

Harry blushed at how obvious he had been. 

"What can I do? Those shorts should be illegal." 

"If you like my arse so much, I'm sure I can show you a couple of ways to show your appreciation." 

Harry groaned, and hurried his steps. 

* * *

The following day after breakfast Harry, Draco and Hermione went into one of the smaller drawing rooms, and she was told about their relationship. She was very happy for them, and confirmed their suspicion that she had seen the signs the day before. Afterwards, she retreated to the library to leave the men alone until the children arrive. They wasted no time in returning to what was quickly becoming their rooms. 

They were lounging in bed a few hours later, too tired to do anything but bask in the afterglow, when there was a knock on a window. Draco couldn't be bothered to get up, so it was left to Harry to drag his naked self out of bed to let in the owl. He immediately recognised it as Teddy's. He felt a bit guilty, since he should have written a letter to his godson after declaring himself for the Dark side, but he was a bit afraid as to how the boy would handle it. 

Teddy has been in France, attending a year at Beauxbatons. It was part of a scholarship program that the schools have set up after the war to introduce magical students to different parts of the magical world. Teddy studied well, and his scores had qualified him for the program. He didn't write often. As a teen, he was usually more occupied with chasing after girls, than writing to his ‘old' godfather. He had even spent Christmas there, and Andromeda traveled to France to be with him. 

Harry's fingers shook a little as he opened the letter. 

_Goddad,_

I suppose you must be very busy now, being a big politician and everything, since you haven't written to me. Or maybe you're afraid of what I think? I get The Prophet _too, you know. I saw that the Weasleys are not very happy with you right now. I know that if you jeopardised your whole relationship with them, then you must have had a really good reason to do so. It must have had something to do with Hermione's divorce? I'm not so sure as to what is going on, so please, clear it up for me. I don't know anything about wizarding politics. Just know this. No matter what, you're my Goddad, and I love you. I will never abandon you._

Teddy 

Harry grinned as he read the letter. He had been afraid as to what Teddy would say. He spent so much time playing with the Weasleys as a child, Harry feared that he would see them more as a family than him. Without even bothering to put on clothes, he went to the desk in the small drawing room to compose a long letter. 

"Harry? What is it?" Draco asked. He reluctantly got up, and followed the oblivious Harry to the other room. He read the letter that was placed on the desk, patted the unruly dark curls of his lover, and went in search of a robe. 

Harry looked up to savour the sight of Draco's naked behind. 

"Get some lunch!" he called out. 

"Not your house-elf, Harry!" came the reply from the bedroom. 

"Then get a house-elf to get some lunch! I'm hungry!" Harry said, chuckling. 

Once the letter was finished, Harry returned to the bedroom. Draco had prepared quite a picnic on the bed, and he sat down to have a naked lunch. Harry noticed how quiet Draco was. 

"What is it?" 

"Oh, just wondering what we're going to do with this week. You were planning on having a vacation filled with exploring a naked body. So, I was thinking, why don't we have that vacation together?" 

Harry chewed his food, contemplating the proposal. 

"Why do you want to go on a vacation?" 

"Well, it's obviously pretty hard on you keeping what's happening between us a secret from the children. If we went away together, then you could just focus on the relationship, make sure this is what you want, and get comfortable in it. There is no better way to find out if you want to be with someone than to see them in a foreign environment," Draco explained. 

"It does sound like a good idea," Harry agreed. "Where would we go?" 

"Adrian has a house in Rome we could borrow." 

"Wouldn't he be... you know... jealous? I mean, you and him were..." 

"It wasn't serious. He'll probably be a bit disappointed that I'm off the market now, but he'll get over it." 

Harry grinned at that. A part of him was so happy that the gorgeous man just wanted to be with him. 

"Well, if you're sure..." 

"Of course I am. I wouldn't have brought it up otherwise. I'll write him a letter after lunch. Have you ever been to Rome?" 

"No. I've only been to Paris for my honeymoon, and now Thailand," Harry confessed. 

"We'll have to rectify that. After everything settles down, we could take the kids to a couple of places as well over the summer." 

Harry was excited that Draco was planning family vacations together as well. Perhaps it was a bit fast-paced, but once he opened himself up to the blond, he just wanted to be with him every moment of the day. As if it was what he had been waiting for all this time, and the feeling appeared to be returned. He locked eyes with the man before him, and all he saw was happiness.


	17. Roman Vacation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can see from the title, Harry and Draco go to Rome. I've spent a week there myself in 2011. The house they are staying in does exist. I've put up a picture of it on my Zelda of Arel Facebook page, so you can check it out. I've also put up some pictures of the works of art I mention here, and the Trastevere, which I mention. Though I was there in September.
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> Always looking for likes to Zelda of Arel and Drarry Shippers on Facebook. Adults only!
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> Faye beta read this as well. She did this quickly while also editing her own works of fiction. Check out Drarry Shippers, because the links to her fanfics are there, and do read them.
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> Read and review guys! Love reviews. Who doesn't?

Harry and Draco didn't use magical transportation to reach Rome. They used a Muggle aeroplane, to Harry's surprise. Draco told him to leave all the organising to him, so when he was presented with an aeroplane ticket, and asked if he had a passport, he was gobsmacked. Luckily, he did own a passport. 

The next day Draco moved through Heathrow with ease, guiding them straight to the check-in. Once inside the duty-free area, they still had an hour before their flight. They checked out the many stores, and ate some Muggle food at Gordon Ramsay Plane Food. Harry had no idea that they served such food at airports. He always supposed it was more McDonalds than fine dining, even though they were only eating breakfast. Harry had a bracing glass of whisky there, in spite of the early hour. He had never flown on a plane before, and he needed the Dutch courage. 

"Draco, how come you know your way around the airport so well?" he asked, as they waited for their call to board. 

"We always used Muggle transportation to go abroad. Father never liked having his movements monitored." 

"Oh." Lucius Malfoy strapped into a seat on a Muggle aeroplane. He just couldn't imagine it. 

Harry was amazed at just how naturally Draco fit in. While other wizards often wore ridiculous clothes in the Muggle world, Draco had on a pair of simple dark blue jeans with a white T-shirt and a leather jacket. Harry found it very hard not to stare at Draco's behind in those sinfully tight trousers. Why he insisted on wearing something tight all the time was beyond Harry. Though the smirk on Draco's face probably indicated that he just loved to play with Harry, and show off his assets. 

After breakfast, they had a look at the shops. Harry spied some digital cameras, and wished he could get one. 

"I suppose electricity doesn't work at Malfoy Manor either," he wondered out loud. 

"No, but there are charms that can substitute electricity." 

"Really? I never heard of them." Harry was baffled. 

"They are fairly new inventions. I just read about them in a magazine. A Muggle-born is behind them. Very clever." 

"I'm glad you can admit it." 

"Harry, you know that even my father got passed his prejudices. We learned to give credit where credit is due." 

"You're right." Harry blushed. Sometimes he still found it hard to remember that things had changed since school. "Sorry," he added. 

Draco just nodded, and picked up the most expensive camera on display. 

"I've wanted one of these for a while," he remarked, and headed towards the accessories section. In the end they left with a lot of gadgets, as they needed a computer and a couple of other things as well. Harry had no idea how to work a computer, as he was never let near Dudley's, and after he left Hogwarts he never needed one. Draco was confident, that they would figure it out, and if not, they would just find someone to teach them. 

They boarded the flight ahead of a long queue. The other passengers grumbled a bit, but they had first class tickets. Harry sat down in the very comfortable seat next to Draco, and accepted the complementary Champagne. He just hoped that the combination of whiskey and Champagne wouldn't make him sick. They were instructed to fasten their seatbelts, and then the emergency guidelines were shown. As the plane smoothly started to move, Harry could feel the drunken butterflies in his stomach sloshing about in the alcohol. He sincerely hoped he wouldn't vomit. The plane taxied to the end of the long runway, and paused. Harry felt a hand on his, and turned from the window to see Draco smiling at him. Harry held the hand tighter. 

The engines blared, and the plane suddenly seemed to put on full speed. Harry was pushed against his seat. Unable to swallow, he couldn't force his rapidly beating heart still. Then he felt the plane leave the ground, and his stomach seemed to be pulled back down by gravity. His ears clogged. Harry couldn't understand why anyone would put their body through the sensations voluntarily. He also briefly wondered, if besides flying on a broom, there was a mode of transport that he actually liked, and he came up with nothing. They were still rising, and he tore his gaze away from the fact that everything before them was higher up on the plane. He looked outside. 

He had flown high up before, but not so high. He couldn't believe that in such a short time they had already flown so far. Below them there was water, and the great landmass of Europe rolling under them. Still, they were going up and up, towards space. However, he didn't feel the thrust of the engines anymore, and if he wasn't hearing them, he would have been afraid that they had stopped. After that, the window was swallowed up by the clouds, and finally, they broke above the cloud cover. At that moment, Harry felt like he had arrived to another world. The clouds below him made out hills and valleys, all shining in the sunlight. 

"Draco," he said, wanting to share the wonder of it all with his partner. 

"Yes, beautiful, isn't it?" He leaned over, seatbelt still fastened. 

"It's so... serene." 

Harry turned to look at Draco's face. He was smiling. 

"Can I get my hand back now, please? My ear is still clogged, and I want to get a mint from the stewardess." 

Harry let go, and his palm ached from holding on too tightly. Draco flexed his even whiter than usual fingers, and they rapidly filled with blood again. Harry winced. 

"Sorry." 

"It's okay." 

They were soon both sucking on their mints, and the rest of the flight was spent reading a book they brought. Harry wasn't looking forward to the landing. 

An hour and a half later they were warned to prepare for landing. Harry looked out. The plane was turning and descending, but seemingly towards the sea. 

"Are we landing on water?" 

"No, but the airport is close, so we have to turn to the landing site over the water." 

Harry kept looking out. The plane was still above water. He could see the rays of the sun glisten on the waves below. He hoped they wouldn't end up as shark food. Then they were above the beach, and houses. Still no airport in sight. He was starting to get worried. At almost what seemed as the last minute, a runway appeared under them, and they touched down flawlessly, with just a slight bump. The plane slowed down rapidly, nearly coming to a full halt. Another sigh. At least Draco's hand remained untouched this time. 

Harry was very glad when he could leave the plane at last. 

"I take it you don't like flying in a plane either?" Draco asked, referring to how he knew Harry disliked the Floo, Apparating and Portkeys. 

"No." 

"Do you like anything besides a broom?" 

"No." 

"Planes it is then." 

Harry sighed, coming to terms with the fact that in a few days he had to repeat the journey. 

Leonardo da Vinci Airport didn't look very big. They didn't need to pick up any luggage, as everything was in their shoulder bags, shrunk and protected. Harry hated to think about waiting for his suitcase to arrive, only to find that it ended up in Kenya, or some other far-away place. 

Harry expected to get a taxi, but Draco assured him that the Leonardo Express train would be an experience in itself. As they sat down, he resolved to acting as unlike tourists as they could possible act. 

From the train, they quickly made it outside the train station, where they did get a taxi. Draco wasn't that ready to join the Romans on the many crowded buses that passed by. Hailing the taxi was when Harry first noticed the heat. It was a lot warmer than it had been in London, but not as hot as in Thailand. He was somewhat glad, as Thailand was a bit too hot for his system. 

Harry was glued to the window. He seriously had no idea what Draco was doing beside him, he was so mesmerised by the colourful houses and the seemingly endless stream of people going about their business on the narrow pavements. London was a busy city as well, he knew that, but it never had that crowded feeling. Everyone seemed to move to a slow and steady music, while the people in Rome lived to the beat of a fast-paced pop song. Horns blared from all directions, and their driver wasn't afraid to use it either. Harry resolved not to look forward. He really didn't want to know how many times they nearly hit someone. It was so loud and full of life. They passed a huge and grand white building, that inspite of being built reminiscent of ancient structures, it was obviously a modern construction. They also drove by two sets of very long steps, a great wall of rocks, wound down some narrow streets, and stopped on a really narrow one. On one side there was a row of buildings, on the other side of the street there was a big gate. The flag of the Vatican hung over it, and Harry wondered what that was about. 

"That's the San Teodoro Church," Draco spoke up as the taxi pulled away. "It's one of the oldest churches in Rome. It had been renovated not long ago. Pretty place. We can have a look tomorrow when we go sightseeing. If you look up at those trees," he pointed above the build in front of them, "that's the Palatinus. It has some of the oldest ruins in Rome. We'll need a full day for it. The Colosseum is just on the other side. I have so much to show you, these few days probably won't be enough." 

Harry grinned, and Draco took his hand. He was pulled towards a narrow yellow and pink building with four floors. The facade was decorated by beautiful reliefs around the windows and in between them. It looked like a small ancient palace to Harry. 

Inside, they were greeted by uniformed servants, who exclaimed over the pleasure of having guests in the house. Their English was heavily accented. The couple was lead to their rooms, that consisted of a small sitting room with a nice breakfast table beside the window, a light and airy bedroom with a bed to rival Draco's, and a decadent bathroom with a great claw-footed bathtub. After they were shown the bells to ring the staff, the maid left discreetly. 

"What are we going to do today?" Harry asked, looking to Draco for guidance. 

"Well, we first read the manual of the camera. Then there's this great quarter in Rome called Trastevere. We can have a nice dinner there. I'm assuming your stomach will need a bit of rest after the flying." 

Harry nodded his agreement to that statement. 

"Then we come back?" he asked. 

"We can also take a walk. I think tonight we're too exhausted to do anything more." 

Harry's face fell a bit. 

"I mean, too exhausted to do anything in the city. We should test this beautiful bed," Draco said, as he approached Harry. 

They stood kissing for some time, just enjoying each other. Draco took first turn in the bathroom, since he took longer anyway. While he was there, Harry tried to figure the camera out. He was getting nowhere with it, until one of the maids looked in on him. She was more familiar with the gadget, and could show him how to use it much more easily than the manual did. She promised to also help with the computer the following day. Draco was surprised when he entered in the nude, and Harry snapped a picture of him. 

"Sorry, I thought you'd at least have a towel." 

"No problem." Draco smirked. "We can make a whole album if you want." He started to pose, and Harry took a few more shots of him. 

Harry stopped, and taking his pale god's hand, he pulled him down on the bed. Soon all clothes were off Harry as well, and they both got a bit dirty. Draco complained a little about his skin drying out if they took so many baths a day, but he still joined Harry in getting clean. By the time they got a taxi to Trastevere, it was very dark and they were very hungry. 

Walking down the narrow streets in the quaint quarter, they had a hard time choosing a restaurant. The menus were put out, but in some of the places only in Italian. Draco picked a smaller place in the end, but it was packed with people. They got the last table in the house, that was just vacated by an American couple. They were complaining loudly about the staff not speaking English. 

The waiter came by with some menus, and they were in Italian as well. Harry was a bit frustrated, and could understand the couple that had left. 

"I'll order. Or you don't trust my taste?" Draco asked. 

"Of course I do. I would like to see what is on offer though." 

Draco just patted his hand on the table, and discussed what they were going to eat with the handsome dark skinned waiter. Harry thought he was just a bit too smiling, but said nothing. 

"What other languages do you speak?" he asked instead. 

"French, German, some Spanish, and even a little bit of Bulgarian." 

"When did you learn that?" Harry wondered out loud. It wasn't a common language to study. 

"Fourth year. There was this big bloke from Durmstrang, who taught me a bit." 

"Why?" 

"Well, you know what they say... the easiest way to learn a language is in bed." Draco smiled wistfully. 

"But .... we were fourteen!" He was astounded. The least of his problems that year were hormones. Though there was that whole thing with Cho. 

"Old enough. Besides, you were making moon eyes at Diggory's girl. What was her name?" 

"Cho Chang." 

"Oh right!" He shrugged dismissively. "Flat as a board, athletic. Small wonder you didn't realise your interest in boys by then." 

Harry blushed. 

Their food arrived, and they enjoyed the homemade pasta in basil pesto with some local wine. That was just the first course, as their main was a hot veal stew. They finished with a small serving of panna cotta with caramel. 

Harry had enjoyed the meal, and afterwards they walked the streets a bit more. They took a lot of pictures, and Harry even tried to be somewhat artistic about it. He took close-ups of the balconies with sleeping ivy curving around the railings. A row of vespas in front of a shadowy eatery also caught his attention. They walked over the Tiber, the lights on the Tiber island flickering in the water. Harry found himself slipping an arm around his companion as they strolled down the bank of the river. Draco smiled at him, and Harry wanted to kiss him badly, but he was afraid. What if someone saw them? When they went more into the city, the constant honking from the cars took the romance quickly away. 

Before he knew it, they were standing in front of the house. In their bedroom they could finally do as they wanted, and fell into bed together. 

The next morning they were served breakfast in bed. There was a strong espresso for both of them. Harry was glad for the milk though. They also got a sort of egg dish, which was whipped eggs cut into a square shape with tomatoes and sausages mixed in, mozzarella on top. Harry liked the strong flavour of basil in it. 

Both men got ready, and even Draco took less time than usual. He was obviously keen to show the city to Harry. 

They started out with the small church across the street. It was pretty, but didn't hold much interest to Harry. Because of the renovation it seemed to lack character. Afterwards, Draco pulled him down the street, until they got to a big wide open field with a few ruins on it. 

"This is the famous Circus Maximus." Draco had decided to play the tour guide. "They used to hold the carriage competitions here." 

"It's huge!" 

"I know. We have to walk to the end of it, and from there the entrance to the hill is not far away." 

They walked on, and Harry was glad for the rather warm weather. It felt more like autumn than winter. In the morning rush hour, the street was packed with cars. They never seemed to stop honking, and about once every five minutes an ambulance could be heard blaring it's sirenes somewhere. Harry thought it took away from the ambience. They finally reached a big junction, and some more ruins. Harry took pictures of those as well, even though they didn't look terribly interesting. They turned onto a really wide street with three lanes going in both directions. Tall trees stood on either side, and an arch was visible at the end. 

"We have to walk down to the entrance of the hill, but you can already see some things to your left." Draco pointed, looking like almost a professional. 

When they did finally reach the entrance, they had to stand in a line. It didn't look very long, and was actually going rather fast. Harry stepped out to take some more pictures. He was enjoying photography a lot. At least from behind the camera he wasn't the subject. 

Finally inside, they hiked up the small hill. On the top, they saw an arena. It stretched out before them like a Quidditch stadium, and Harry wondered what wizards played in those times. Probably something a lot more brutal than Quidditch. After that they went into the museum to have a look at some statues that were found on the hill. It mostly had heads, or headless torsos. 

"Voldemort would enjoy this place," Harry joked, though he wanted to take it back right away. 

"Yeah, he would have," Draco smiled, and Harry was relieved. 

They rested a bit outside, and then walked among some more ruins. Harry got the urge to touch the stones. They had been standing there for millennia, and he had a sense of awe about them. 

They got to a point where there was a great view of the city, and Draco pointed out that they could see the house from there. 

By the time they got to the Forum Romanum, Harry was tired. He never thought the hill had so many interesting ruins besides the Forum. However, that part was clearly the most fascinating one, and in spite of his exhaustion, he still kept walking. The lure of the ancient stones was too great to stop. At the end they got to a very decorated Arch. 

"This was built by Septimius Severus," Draco informed him. 

"Severus?" 

"Yes. Lucius Septimius Severus Augustus, to be exact. Kind of funny. But he was really known as just Severus. He was a really strong emperor. He fought many wars and won. He even tried to go against Scotland, but he died in what is now York. Naturally, Father wasn't named after him, but I do seem to recall Severus mentioning something like his mother named him after an emperor thinking that it would give him strength in his struggles." 

"And then I named my son after him," Harry noted. 

"So the name lives on." 

"I want a picture of me in front of the Arch." Harry stood in position, thinking that Al would find the Arch interesting. 

"I think this is the nicest Arch of all of them," Harry said, looking at the lavish decorations. He especially liked the men in togas. 

"Just think, men like that used to stand where we are now." Draco draped an arm over Harry's shoulder, looking at the figures. 

Harry looked at the arm first, then at the wizard standing next to him. His eyes were shining with wonder, his blond hair tousled in the slight wind that blew on the hill. He had never seen anyone so beautiful, and he leaned over to give a quick kiss on the other man's lips. Then he realised what he'd done, and looked around, a bit scared of the reaction of the people around him. Most ignored him, but a tourist couple looked at them with disgust. Harry reddened and looked away, trying to untangle himself from the embrace they have ended up in. 

"No, just ignore them," Draco said, enveloping him in a hug. "I know that this is strange for you, and that Muggles have issues with this, but you have lived your life according to what others wanted of you long enough," he whispered. 

Draco broke away, and taking Harry's face in his hands, he planted a long kiss on his lips. 

Harry still felt uncomfortable, but he knew that the blond was right. He took a deep breath, and captured the other man's hand in his, and they walked on like that. 

After they exited the Forum and photographed their way down the Via dei Fori Imperiali, they arrived to the Colosseum. It was even bigger up close than what Harry had imagined. Inside, it was big, but it took a little imagination to see it in its old glory. 

"Wish they would restore it," Harry remarked, and Draco nodded. "So, where are we going now?" he asked. They had spent the whole day exploring the ruins, and night was fast approaching. It had been a good idea that they packed sandwiches for lunch, but it was getting colder, and Harry just wanted a warm place to rest, and some warm food to eat. 

"Well, we could go back to the house, or there is a lovely restaurant on my favourite square." 

"I want to see your favourite square." Harry grinned. 

"Then we'll need a taxi. I'm not walking that far." 

They left the ancient ruins behind, and entered the zigzags of the city in a taxi. Harry thought that the following day they could spend exploring the modern side of the city. They soon arrived to a very large square. 

"Piazza Navona," Draco said, as they stepped onto the pavement. "It's shaped like a horse racing ring, because that's what it used to be. It has three beautiful fountains on it, the most well known is the Fountain of the Four Rivers, designed by my favourite sculptor, Bernini." 

"Which four?" 

"The Nile, the Danube, the Ganges and the Río de la Plata. They are the major rivers on four continents that they knew about at the time. Each side of the fountain represents one of them." 

"What about the obelisk?" Harry noted from afar. 

"That's from an ancient temple. There are many around the city, often made a part of monuments like this." 

They went close to it, and Harry made many pictures in the light of the setting sun. 

"Look at the statues, Harry. The men are beautiful, strong and muscular. So life-like too." Draco drew his attention to the figures. "This is what I like the most about Bernini. It's almost as if his characters could stand up and walk away any moment." 

"They're hot too." 

"And that." The blond grinned. 

Harry laughed, and let himself be dragged to a nearby restaurant. Draco pouted a bit at it being too cold to sit outside, but was assured that it wouldn't be their last trip to the ancient city. 

Throughout the week, Harry found himself returning to the Piazza many times, and the ambiance of it quickly made it his favourite as well. It helped that the loud cars couldn't enter with all their honking. The city seemed to be filled by Bernini's works, which Draco never failed to point out. The men in his sculptures were really very life-like, but also mostly of the strong muscular type, which Harry realised didn't really appeal to him all that much. The one that he did find beautiful, was in the Galleria Borghese. The title of the work was _Apollo and Daphne_ , and it basically depicted attempted rape. While that part wasn't good, the figures were still beautiful. Apollo was slender, fine featured, and if Harry remembered right, blond in pictures. Truth be told, he did look a lot like Draco, so Harry supposed, that was his type of man. He wished he could have taken a picture of Draco besides the statue, but they weren't allowed to take their cameras in. They did buy a book of the Gallery though. Harry considered learning photoshop. 

Besides looking at statues, what Harry really wanted to do was to get used to being with Draco in public. It wasn't always easy. Mostly it was just the occasional look, but there were some, who decided to express their problem with two men being together verbally. Harry had expected it, feared it, but realised he couldn't let it rule his life. Once he was divorced he could make the relationship public in Britain as well, and he wanted to be comfortable in it by then. 

Their times in private were easy though. Harry found it fascinating that he hadn't realised he was gay up to that point, when he enjoyed everything that Draco's body had to offer so much. Except for letting the other man inside his body they tried everything, but the blond didn't seem to mind keeping it to touching and oral for the time being. He knew he would like the other man inside him, but the thought scared him. Draco did have more experience at gay sex though, and he knew that when the time came he would be in good hands. He also knew that Draco preferred to bottom anyway, so he expected the time for that to come sooner. 

After one session of lips and tongues, when they lay side-by-side, Draco turned to him. 

"Harry, would you like to be inside me?" 

So the time came for it for Draco, but though Harry's first instinct was to accept readily, he stopped to consider it for a moment. 

"Yes," he answered. 

"Tonight?" 

"If you're sure, then yes." 

"I'm sure." Draco grinned, and kissed his boyfriend deeply. 

Harry returned the kiss, spurred on by what they were going to do. The thought excited him beyond measure, but also frightened him a little. However, he trusted Draco's experience to lead him. 

He turned to lay on the other man, kissing his lips, his ears, neck that arched under him just right, the bobbing Adam's apple, the collarbones. He lowered his head to lick up from the flat nipples, repeating the treatment on the other side. He didn't linger too long though, because he knew he had to do a lot more before he could come. In spite of already having had an orgasm just not long before, he was already achingly hard for his boyfriend. He wasted no time in proceeding lower, to kiss and nibble the jutting hipbone. He loved the boyish figure that Draco managed to maintain. All sinewy muscle and jutting bones. What wasn't boyish was the cock he reached as he got even lower, and he mouthed the tip a little, then wetted it with his tongue, to take all of it into his mouth. Draco moaned above him, and Harry sucked the other man with relish. He just loved the feel of the slim, but long rod in his mouth. 

He left it though, and sucked on his own finger to lubricate it. Then he inserted one into Draco's opening, returning his mouth to its previous task. The sounds above him got even louder. He knew Draco just loved being stimulated on both sides. He glanced up to see the wanton look on the beautiful face above him, and the other man had one of his fingers in his own mouth, lightly sucking at it. Harry thought of turning around to give him something else to suck on, but he wouldn't have been able to last that way for what they wanted to do. Next time. 

Harry returned to his task, and was soon inserting three fingers in, stretching Draco. His lips left the beautiful cock, and he swiped his tongue around the rim of the hole he was preparing. That elicited another loud moan, and Harry teased the opening further. 

"Harry, please!" Draco begged, and Harry knew he was ready. 

He reached for the lube on the bedside table, and slicked his fingers, so that he could lubricate the opening. After that, he coated his own cock liberally, which was rock hard, and slightly oozing his fluids. Harry took a deep breath, forcing himself to relax a bit. He lined himself up, and Draco spread his legs out further, to make more room for him. He was watching Harry intently, his eyes clouded with desire. Harry slowly inched himself in, breathing hard as the tip was in. The orifice was incredibly tight, inspite of all the stretching he had done. He looked down to see himself inside, the pink cock in front of him standing hard. When he was sure he wasn't going to come, he went in deeper, until he was fully in the other man's body. He sighed, and looked up to see Draco's face. He was smiling. 

"Move already," Draco moaned after a few seconds, and Harry complied with a chuckle. 

He leaned down to kiss Draco. It was sloppy and full of desire, but being inside his boyfriend on both ends felt incredible. He then stayed on top of him, just rocking his hips slowly, wanting the experience to last. However, he couldn't keep up the languid pace for long, and soon found himself grasping Draco's raised knees as he slammed into him. He was slightly afraid of hurting the blond, but he would have complained if he did. Instead, Draco just kept on moaning and urging him in a breathless voice to go deeper, harder, enjoying the slightly rough treatment. Harry filed away that knowledge to future use. Soon though, his mind was completely focused on his task, and he felt his orgasm approaching. He grasped the cock before him, forcing his own tide back, wanting to make Draco come first. He didn't have to pump the shaft for long, and Draco was soon shouting under him, coating his hand with his fluid. Harry felt the muscles that surrounded his own cock contract, and let himself go, let the tide overtake him with all of its force. He moaned long as he pumped all his come into the hole, only pulling out once he was all done. 

He collapsed onto his previous spot next to his lover, and panted for what must have been several minutes. His body felt exhausted, his muscles straining, but the euphoria from his orgasm was still there. He only looked at Draco once he had calmed down somewhat, to see the other man already recovered, and looking at him grinning. 

"Welcome back?" he joked, referring to the haze Harry had been in. 

"That was incredible." 

"I know." 

"Best ever." 

"I know." 

"When can we do it again?" 

"Half an hour?" 

"Okay, but I'll need to rest my eyes a bit ‘til then." 

Of course, round two had to wait until morning, when Harry woke to Draco swallowing him whole, proclaiming that he had rested long enough, and it was time to fuck him again. Draco was really a pushy bottom, but Harry didn't mind.


	18. Divorces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is the last real chapter, just the epilogue to go. I started on that, but if you guys have any lingering questions, then tell that in a review, and I’ll put that into the epilogue.
> 
> You may ask, what took me so long? Well, several things, actually. On the one hand I wrote the chapter, but I just wasn’t happy with it. I didn’t plan on ending it this way, but I worked through some issues, saw some things, and this is what I ended up with. I re-read it several times. Thought about it, but in the end, I just felt that I couldn’t end it any other way. I know some people will be a bit disappointed, but oh well, can’t please everyone.
> 
> The other thing that delayed was that I’m trying to write a novel right now. It’s sci-fi, and happens in the future. It may be a bit dystopian, but not really. I’m writing it in Hungarian, which is sometimes difficult, because I’m so used to writing it in English. However, I’ll also write it in English after I’m done. No publisher, I’ll probably just go ahead with self-publishing. Keep your fingers crossed for me! :D
> 
> So after the epilogue, I may not write HP anymore. Though I do keep thinking about my Lucius / Harry story, which I always wanted to write a sequel to. Now that would be dystopian. We’ll see. I also have this almost PWP idea for a series about Draco, from his POV. Though PWP needs a different kind of inspiration. :D
> 
> Still looking for likes to Zelda of Arel and Drarry Shippers on Facebook. Adults only!
> 
> Now, time to thank my lovely beta. Faye, you’re always such a big help. I’d lack some serious amount of commas and capital letters without her. Also, for the life of me I can’t learn that it’s Floo, not Flo.  
> Read and review guys! Love reviews.

Harry was a bit sad to leave Rome on Sunday morning, but was also glad to see his kids again. He had sent them an owl with some of the pictures, also talked through the Floo, but it just wasn’t the same. Therefore, when he was bombarded by three bodies upon entering the Manor, he was beyond happy. 

They all settled down in one of the parlors. The older Malfoys and Hermione joined them, and the house-elves brought refreshments. It turned into quite the little party as with Draco’s help, Harry told them almost everything about the trip. He did leave out the kissing parts. 

"Didn't you visit Wizard sites?" asked Hermione. 

"Do you think we wanted to be discovered so desperately?" Draco retorted a bit sarcastically. 

"I see your point." Hermione blushed at missing the obvious. 

"Next time." Harry grinned. 

"Though don't expect a lot," the blond explained. "Because of their distaste for the Vatican, and the restrictive Roman wizarding government, most Italian wizards just have a house there, and not actually live there. Their version of wizarding Rome is tiny." 

"You didn't say anything about restrictions," Harry said, hoping he hadn't broken any laws. 

"That's because you hardly use any magic as it is. There are rules like no Apparition, no Legilimency, no appearance altering magics. Also, Rome is so ancient, the site has natural magic dampeners. Though some say it may be a curse. Anyway, spells seem to falter or just not work in most areas of the city. House-elves are forbidden, but they refuse to stay long anyway. They are hurt by the dampeners." 

"I’ve never heard of this," noted Hermione. 

"Oh, it's sort of common knowledge. There had been some studies on it centuries ago, but no one bothers with it anymore. You probably want to read up on it now. I'll point you to the relevant volumes in the library." 

"Thank you!" Hermione's eyes lit up at the thought of research. 

When Harry was done with the rest of the story of their stay, had passed the printed out pictures around, he took a deep breath, and plunged ahead with telling them what he had decided. 

“Everyone, I’m getting divorced,” he announced. 

The children looked at him quizzically. 

“The same as Aunt Hermione,” he tried to explain. 

“Why?” James asked. 

“Your mother and I haven’t been getting along as we should. She had been going away a lot, and it just doesn’t feel like we’re really married anymore.” Harry tried to explain without including what he had seen in Thailand. 

“Can’t she like, I don’t know, stay more?” James was clearly getting more upset. 

“James, Dad’s with Draco now,” Al spoke up, rolling his eyes at his brother. 

Everyone looked at the boy in astonishment, who looked back at them with a raised eyebrow. 

“I guess it was obvious just to me then,” the boy said. 

“Naw, I knew it too,” Scorpius said, giggling, and the boys shared a smile. 

Harry frowned at them, but shook his head. He was probably just seeing things. 

“Is this true then?” James demanded, his tone accusatory. 

“Yes.” Harry could only admit it. 

“So that is why you’re divorcing Mum?” He stood up, and glared at his father. 

“No, James. It’s not because of Draco. It’s because it doesn’t work anymore. If it did, then I wouldn’t have looked Draco’s way." Harry wanted the boy to see his reasons. "Please understand, I’m not that kind of a man. I’ve been faithful to your mother for all these years, but I realised that even when she’s here, it’s like being with a stranger. We don’t make each other happy. Therefore, I’ve decided to get a divorce. That I found my happiness with Draco is not connected. Maybe, the two are connected just in that when I closed that chapter of my life, I realised that there was a new chapter waiting for me.” Harry smiled at the blond. “I will never stop loving the three of you. I also want us all to be happy here. I think you have been this past week, and I would like to continue this way.” 

“So we’re not going to live with Mummy?” Lily asked, looking up at her father with big sad eyes. 

“No. You may go to visit, but you won’t live with her.” 

“Yay!” she shouted, and rushed to her father, clutching his leg. 

Harry had to still himself in order not to fall. He patted her head, encouraging her to let go. He was glad for her reaction. Girls usually favoured their mother, but Ginny really hadn’t taken a lot of care of Lily. 

“You don’t mind?” he asked, crunching down to her level. 

She just shook her head, and planted a kiss on his face. 

“Al said you’re with Draco now,” she declared. 

“Yes,” he nodded. 

“What does that mean?” 

“Well, it means that I like Draco a lot, and want to give him many kisses.” 

“You don’t want to kiss Mummy anymore?” 

“No.” 

“Okay, I like Draco. Am I with Draco? I sometimes give him a kiss.” 

“No, that’s different. But I’m glad that you like Draco.” 

“He’s a blond dragon! I like dragons.” She giggled. “Can I give him a kiss now?” 

“Sure.” 

Off she went, to plant herself in Draco’s lap, who grinned at her, apparently glad that she liked him. She gave him a big wet kiss, then rested her head on his shoulder. The man’s arms went around her to keep her safe. 

“Anyone else have any questions?” 

“No,” they chorused, but James was still looking a bit surly. He had been with his mother the longest, as she only started to travel a lot after Lily’s birth. Everyone stood to leave. 

Lily extracted herself from Draco’s lap, and she ran after her brothers to the playroom, who were being ushered out by Hermione. 

Lucius Malfoy stepped up to Harry, and he expected to be told off or something like that, but the older man just patted his shoulder and smiled. Then he joined his smiling wife, and they both left the room. 

“That went better than I expected,” Harry remarked. 

Draco smiled and embraced him. Harry returned the embrace, then they kissed lightly, enjoying the feel of each other. 

“Oh, by the way, I’m going to tell Scorpius that I’m getting divorced as well. It probably won’t come as a surprise to him though,” Draco revealed. 

Harry stared at him, and then kissed him with more passion. 

“I don’t see a point in staying married,” the blond explained. “Besides, I’d feel weird, carrying this around, while I was with you,” Draco said, pulling down his wedding ring. He placed it in Harry’s palm, who just stared at it. “It never meant much to me. It was just a way to produce a legitimate heir. I do have that. I just didn’t get a divorce earlier, because it didn’t seem important.” 

“Now it is?” Harry asked, a bit hopefully. 

“Of course it is.” 

Their eyes meet and communicated the feelings neither of them were ready to say out loud. 

* * * 

In the evening the next day, the whole family was sitting down to eat a delicious meal. Harry looked around in happiness, and briefly wondered what a turn his life had taken. Then suddenly, a house-elf popped into existence beside him. 

“Master Harry Potter, sir?” 

“Yes, Tinky?” he asked, hoping that he got the name of the elf right. 

“There is a woman who says is your wife outside the gates. She’s screaming and yelling.” 

Harry got up. Ginny had got the papers then. They had timed it so that she got them after they returned from Rome. 

“Let her in, and take her to the green parlour,” he instructed. “Excuse me.” He left the table to wait for Ginny. 

The time it took her to reach the Manor and then the room, allowed him to gather his thoughts. He did want the children, but he wasn’t very keen on the house, and if some money could ease the process, he wasn’t against that either. He just wanted the divorce to go quickly, and without much publicity. 

Draco wasn't very happy about not going after Ginny, but he understood that Harry wanted to spare his children. A clean break was going to be the best. 

Harry was not in a hurry to see his future ex-wife, and she was already waiting for him in the parlour. She was standing next to the large hearth in the room, snow dripping from the bottom of her trousers. She looked up from the fire as he entered. 

"I see you already started the paperwork," she sneered as a way of greeting. 

"Yes. Look, Ginny, I don't want to complicate this," he began, trying, but failing to keep the pleading from his voice. "I just want this divorce quickly over and done with. You can have the house and the money I wrote on the proposition. All I want is to have custody of the children. It has been me who was with them more. You can just go and maybe live in Thailand." 

"Yes, well, that's not going to happen," she said, her hands on her hips. "You can forget a painless separation. I won't make it easy for you. By the time I'm finished with you, your reputation is going to be in the gutter." 

"Don't do this. Think about the children. I don't want to bring up what I saw in Thailand." 

"Oh, you think I can't explain that away? 'My husband couldn't satisfy me'," she began in a whining voice. "'He shuddered every time he touched me. Now that he's living with Draco Malfoy, it's obvious why.' That is what I'm going to say." Malice gleamed in her eyes as she glared at him. 

"You know that no one will care if I'm gay. This isn't the Muggle world," Harry pointed out. 

"They will care that you married the poor little Weasley girl only to deceive her." 

"I see I can't convince you." 

"No. I just wanted to prepare you for a fight." She smiled and marched out of the room, her high-heeled boots clapping on the marble. 

Harry sighed. He really didn't want to fight. He was tired of it. He just wanted to be happy. He took up her place next to the fireplace, gazing into the flames deep in thought. 

"I heard everything," Draco said as he stepped behind Harry and slipped his arms around the other man. 

"What am I going to do?" 

"Use the potion against her." 

"You know I don't want to. I can't even begin to imagine what the children will think." 

"I know, but you may have to. They'll understand that you love them." 

"I'm afraid they'll doubt the beginning of their existence. It may also put some of their family in jail. I know they deserve that, but Ginny is still their mother and Ron their uncle. I keep remembering the boy I met on the train. All the things we've gone through. I don't want to destroy them. I don't want revenge," he said, taking comfort from the presence behind him. 

"Confucius said, 'Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves'. I understand what you're saying, Harry. Though my instinct is to eradicate her from the face of the Earth for everything she's done to you. However, now my job is to release the tension in you now. You know, my mother and Hermione offered to deal with bedtime for the children." He smiled and turned Harry around. "I just know how to get you to relax." 

Draco quickly cast a locking spell on the door, and then dropped to his knees. As he started to divest Harry of his trousers, the other man could just moan and think what a lucky guy he was. 

* * * 

The following day passed quickly. The Wizengamot had a short session, and afterwards Harry expected to return home with Draco, but the blond had other plans. Therefore, Harry enjoyed a nice afternoon at the Manor, first with Hermione, then the children joined them. In the evening, Draco arrived home with a large grin on his face, and asked Harry to join him in his study. He sat the other wizard down on his usual place on the sofa. Harry had very fond memories of the sofa, since they kissed on it the first time. 

Draco sat next to Harry, and placed a small stack of papers in front of him. 

“Most of it is just jargon, the gist of it is that Ginny has signed the divorce papers. She wants the house sold and the price split, a house of her own bought for her in Phuket, and some alimony until she remarries.” 

Harry stared at his lover dumbfounded. 

“How did you...?” 

“Let’s just say that I can be very persuasive. I wanted to do this for us. This way we are rid of her, and we can live our lives. Just sign on the last page.” 

Harry took the papers, and walked over to the desk in the room that he had never used before. He turned to the last page. It occurred to him to read the whole thing, but he trusted Draco. He trusted him with a lot of things. He took a quill, and signed at the bottom, marking the end of a chapter in his life. He stared at it for a while, put the quill down, and looked up at his future with a grin. Draco quickly stood, and rushed over to Harry, kissing him with all his passion. 

The next day they filed the papers and Harry was officially divorced. He was glad that it was over, and that it was done without all the drama that Hermione was going through, who also had a big day in court the following day. However, the Slythendor trio decided to ask for a little private time with Ron before it, and he agreed to the surprise of everyone. 

They chose a small room on the floor of the courtroom for the meeting. It was obviously used for interrogations, with a table and two chairs around it. Ron sat on one chair, and Hermione on the one facing it. Harry and Draco stood behind her, silently supporting their friend. 

“So, what do you want, whore? I see you have your toyboys with you,” Ron said, very smug and confident. 

Hermione just smiled, letting the insult wash over her. 

“We know about the potion.” 

Ron’s face betrayed his surprise, but he tried to quickly hide it. He was no Slytherin though. 

“What potion?” he shot back. 

“We all know that you and Ginny had been dosing us with a complacency potion for all these years, but no longer. We could go to court now, and I’d have house-elf testimony for that. Thank you for that, by the way.” She paused for the dramatic effect. “If the Light side wouldn’t have made the law of Magical Creatures being equal in front of the law, then we wouldn’t be able to use it now. But you had to have that, to allow the house-elves to testify against their former masters.” 

Ron visibly swallowed, and his air of confidence was diminishing right in front of their eyes. 

“However, I’m willing to ignore that, if you do a few things for me.” She reached into her bag next to her and drew out a stack of papers. “This is a divorce settlement. You sign it, and it’ll seem like we parted amicably. I get the children, and you can see them if you want to, but under my supervision. I won’t let you say bad things about me in front of them.” 

“You’d let me see them?” Ron was surprised. 

“Yes. You are their father. They need you, but you have to be a good father. You can’t expect your children to love you because they are biologically connected to you. You have to love them and care for them. You also have to respect their mother. 

“Look, I haven’t slept with anyone else. The Malfoys helped me, because I help them along with Harry in their endeavours to make their side strong again. I have always been faithful to you. You didn’t need to give me the potion in the first place. Sure, I didn’t want to settle down right away, I wanted to find my own way in the world first, but we could have progressed our relationship to marriage slowly. If it didn’t work out, then we could have parted ways and stayed friends.” 

“I was scared. You’re so smart and so beautiful, you were going to become someone important, and soon you would realise I wasn’t good enough for you,” Ron admitted. “Mum said that I wouldn’t be able to hold onto you if I let you live on your own. She was probably right.” 

“I loved you, Ron, but you destroyed that with your actions.” Hermione looked down on the table, saddened by what she had heard. “You should have trusted that, and me, and us. You didn’t give us a chance. Now here we are, and it all ended, and I can’t trust you anymore. Maybe someday. Sign it, and at least save yourself some of the dignity you have left after everything that has appeared in the papers.” 

Ron signed it. It was a bit of a let-down, that after so many hours with the solicitors, the changing of laws, and all the effort they have put in so that the courts would decide in their favour, it all ended in a dingy little interrogation room. 

That evening Hermione got her children back. She returned to the Manor with them, grinning and the happiest she had been in months. They were both in awe of the place, and enjoyed exploring it with their three friends, and their new friend, Scorpius. They were a bit suspicious of ‘Malfoy’ at first, but with the urging of the Potter children they quickly saw past the name and the things their father had taught them. Only the unbreakable charms kept the place intact for the next months as six children seemed determined to test them to their limits.


	19. Epilogue: Harry's 33rd Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final look at the lives of our characters after everything that had taken place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit short, and I tried to rewrite it several times, but I just feel that this is the place to end it. Thank you for reading everyone, and please review. Even if you didn't like it, and more so if you have constructive criticism. I'm not sure what I want to write now. I am working on a book, but for some reason it's not moving forward. I'm also translating a romance my mum wrote.

Harry woke slowly. He was still gripped in the arms of sleep, but felt something warm engulfing his manhood. It felt wonderful. He opened his eyes, and looked down to see a head bobbing up and down under his white sheets. He smiled, and slowly uncovered … 

"Ginny? What are you doing here?!" he exclaimed, trying to escape from the woman's mouth. 

"Happy birthday, Harry!" she said as she let him go, grinning up at him. 

"No, get away from me!" he screamed. 

Harry woke with a start. He looked around, then when he realised his vision was blurred, he scrambled to get his glasses from his nightstand. 

The room was almost dark, with a sliver of light peeking through the curtains. His sheets were a soft green, and his bed a lot more comfortable than in his dream. He was startled as the door opened, and Draco walked in carrying a tray. He was wearing pyjamas, with his favourite dark green robe thrown over it. 

"I see you're up already. Happy birthday, Harry!" he said, and placed the tray on the bed. He parted the curtains with a flick of his wand. 

Harry cringed a little at the sudden light. He was looking at Draco a bit perplexed, as the fog that the dream had created slowly lifted from his mind. Then he recalled that the dream was actually a memory of his last birthday. 

"You look surprised, Harry. Did you forget your birthday?" Draco suggested. 

"No, I just had a strange dream. Nightmare really." 

"What about?" 

"My last birthday. Ginny was home," he grimaced, and that said it all to Draco. 

"I'm sure this year is much better. Look, I made breakfast!" At Harry's raised eyebrow Draco blushed, and quickly corrected his statement. "Okay, the house-elves made it, and I brought it up. I thought we could have a nice breakfast together, and face the kids afterwards." 

"Great idea," Harry said, and popped a berry into his mouth from a plate. 

The proceeded to have a pleasurable breakfast together, which included feeding each other fruits, and eventually lead to the tray being discarded onto the floor. Harry found it a lot better way to wake up than the previous year. 

Once they finally emerged from their room, fully clothed, they were greeted by their children in the garden. Hermione and her children were scheduled to make an appearance at around lunch time. The three of them had moved out a few months after the divorce, to the place where they lived before, and Ron had moved out. Once the red-head calmed down, he became a bit more reasonable. He still ignored Harry and Draco being a couple, but the public didn't. 

Soon after Harry's divorce the news hit the papers, along with a photo of the two of them together in a restaurant. Harry was relieved to see that they were accepted, and heralded as the new force in wizarding politics. It went a bit too smoothly perhaps, but the _Daily Prophet_ had never been known to go against the grain. The _Quibbler_ did an article on famous wizard couples, and included them on the list. Thankfully, homophobia didn't exist in the wizarding world. Harry was a bit puzzled by this, but Draco explained to him that most homophobia stemmed from monotheist tribal cultures, where people were afraid that if not everyone reproduced, the tribe would die out. Since the Wizarding World always had a lower infant mortality rate, and longer life span, that attitude never developed. Now Harry just wished the Muggle world would also be more like that, but as he looked into the issue, he realised that the change was already happening, albeit slowly. 

Harry was happy, and it scared him. He hadn't been this happy probably ever in his life. All right, at the birth of his children, but that didn't last. It must have been an effect of the drug as well, as all his emotions had been muted. However, since his divorce and establishing his relationship with Draco, he had been happy, and so had his new partner. Even the older Malfoys looked pleased. James took a while to come around, but after a while he realised that his father smiled more. He also happened to love the Quidditch pitch on the grounds of Malfoy Manor, once the winter cold passed. They had all started to think of the Manor as their home after a few months. They swam in the pool, had their personal house elves assigned, and the children had their own rooms which they filled with their things. Though usually, come morning, Albus was found in Scorpius' bed, the two of them having fallen asleep after playing. Harry was a bit concerned at how attached they were, but he decided that it was something that would evolve, or devolve on its own. Lili was the granddaughter and daughter to Narcissa that she never had, and was spoiling the little girl rotten. Harry was concerned, but also glad that his little girl had the female attention she craved. It was something else that needed time to resolve. 

As Harry took in their garden, and their children as they played in it, he slipped an arm around Draco's waist. They were a family. Not perfect, and not the one he imagined having as he tried to imagine his future after Voldemort, when he attempted to convince himself that he would have one. However, it was the family that made his heart expand, with the man that made it beat faster, and he wouldn't have changed it for anything. He knew that the ring in his pocket was going a bit fast, but he was sure that it would be accepted. When he looked into the blue-gray eyes of his partner, he saw his own emotions reflected in them, and knew that they both wanted their relationship to last as long as they both shall live.


End file.
